This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Laura Loomer, the investigative journalist and ally of President Donald Trump, is making a bold prediction for the 2028 presidential contest, saying she's "convinced" media titan Tucker Carlson will run for the Oval Office.
"I'm convinced that @TuckerCarlson is going to run for US President in 2028 as the extreme libertarian Bernie Sanders," Loomer posted Sunday on X. "Bookmark this!"
Ten minutes later, she expounded on the reasons for her prediction.
"He sure isn't doing all of this for nothing," Loomer began.
"He is trying to fracture MAGA and make inroads with Muslims and the radical left so he can undermine @JDVance."
"Mark my word, in 2028 @TuckerCarlson will try to run against @JDVance and he will attack JD for standing with Trump over Iran, he will attack JD over Blondi not releasing the Epstein files, and he will accuse JD of having dual loyalty because JD speaks out about jew hatred."
She continued: "I wouldn't even be surprised if Tucker tries to accuse JD of dual loyalty because his kids are half Indian. Tucker is working overtime (and is possibly even being funded) to fracture the MAGA base ahead of 2028 for Islamist and anti-Trump interests.
"Tucker hates MAGA. He blames MAGA for him losing his show on Fox News over the stolen election.
"Fracturing MAGA and encouraging a Pogrom in the US is the revenge he has always wanted. Hopefully @JDVance and his advisors see what @TuckerCarlson is trying to do.
"Never trust someone who says 'Hunter Biden is my good friend.' The signs have always been there."
Carlson has not voiced any desire to run for president in 2028, at least not publicly.
But last month he was critical of the Trump administration's involvement in Israel's unilateral military strikes on Iran, even before the U.S. on June 22 carried out its own strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
On June 13, the Independent of Britain reported: "Tucker Carlson has turned on President Donald Trump by accusing him of being 'complicit' in Israel's attacks on Iran.
"The former Fox News host and MAGA figurehead rebuked Trump and the administration in his newsletter titled: 'This Could Be the Final Newsletter Before All-Out War.'
"'Despite being complicit in the act of war, the president hopes last night's events will help his ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran,' Carlson wrote.
"'While the American military may not have physically perpetrated the assault, years of funding and sending weapons to Israel, which Donald Trump just bragged about on Truth Social, undeniably place the U.S. at the center of last night's events,' the right-wing pundit added."
On April 7, as WorldNetDaily reported, Carlson issued a stark warning against any U.S. military strike on Iran, calling it "suicidal" and claiming "we'd lose the war that follows."
"Whatever you think of tariffs, it's clear that now is the worst possible time for the United States to participate in a military strike on Iran," Carlson posted on X.
"Thousands of Americans would die. We'd lose the war that follows.
"Nothing would be more destructive to our country. And yet we're closer than ever, thanks to unrelenting pressure from neocons.
"This is suicidal. Anyone advocating for conflict with Iran is not an ally of the United States, but an enemy."
Loomer made headlines last week, as WorldNetDaily reported, when she urged President Trump to fire U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, whom she calls "Blondi," for reneging on her pledge to release more information about convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
"Please join me in calling for Blondi to RESIGN!" Loomer said on X. "How many more times is this woman going to get away with Fing everything up before she is FIRED?"
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
There is a banquet table in heaven with a special place reserved for those who know Jesus and love Him. We know this to be true because Jesus told us so.
Many of the good guys from the Golden Age of Hollywood have gone ahead of us to join the festivities. We know that there is rejoicing and probably a lot of wonderful conversations with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has wiped away all their tears.
Some of the good guys are very well-known: Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Jimmy Stewart, and a host of others.
Among that host of well-known was my father, Bob "Tex" Allen, the original Texas Ranger. He ranks among them, having won a Box Office award for his lead in "Love Me Forever" and was rated next to Tim McCoy with his Western series that still airs on Turner Network Television.
Regrettably, we live in a cynical age, which has drifted away from good and evil, as Nietzsche told us it would – an age in which we have forgotten God.
So we look back at that Golden Era and sometimes don't realize that these men not only manifested virtue on the screen, but also in their lives off the screen.
My father, a great rider and roper, was born in 1906, when the cowboys still existed, and before the last U.S. Cavalry battles with the Comanches and Apaches in 1910-1912.
Unlike the portrait painted in today's movies, I remember the stories from those old-timers who said that in the Old West – when one was in a world where death was so close and danger was just around the corner – you lived in awe of God.
Therefore, these real cowboys were good guys who wore high white hats, who didn't curse, who kept their word, and who manifested love and compassion.
In his personal life, my father manifested so much integrity, virtue, and compassion that his example helped me to know God the Father, and the truth of Jesus Christ.
Among other wonderful virtues, he was a mentor and a friend, giving and decent, full of kindness and grace. Rudeness and crudeness so shocked him that I am relieved he has gone on to glory before today's degradation of our government and the officials who act like rude barbarians and hooligans.
It is hard for us to remember, but there was a Golden Age.
There were those who tried to live by standards that are today being torn apart by evil. If we truly love those heroes of the silver screen, we can, perhaps, tell the truth of their stories instead of dragging those stories into the filth of our Freudian decadence.
If we love them, we can try to emulate the virtue that so easily and so well suited them. It is a legacy worth considering.
The Bible tells us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, who are none other than those wonderful saints that went on to glory before us.
A saint is a person set apart by God when that person is born again through faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. I remember quite well the very moment that my father said the sinner's prayer and was born again in my home in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1982.
At the Glen Cove Hospital in the final days of his life, he reaffirmed his faith in Jesus Christ while all my family was gathered around his bed weeks before he died.
However, despite the secure knowledge I have that my father has gone on to glory to a mansion prepared just for him in heaven, I wept when my father died.
Jesus gave His precious life to purchase eternal life for each and every man, woman, and child who would accept His gift.
Although Jesus lived at an extremely pagan time – where life was cheap and disposable, where pleasure took precedence over life, where people were murdered in the Roman Colosseum to entertain the populace, where babies were left to die outside the city gates, where bodies were thrown into stew pots to feed the outcasts – Jesus knew how unique each one of us is, and so He alone redeemed us. He, of course, knew the mission and ministry to which He appointed each of us.
God designed my father to be a gentleman in every way. He possessed great talent, a wonderful mind, and was extremely handsome. He was open, decent, and humble in ways that caused most of those who knew him to love him. Throughout his life, he got better. In spite of all his gifts and talents, my father dedicated himself to his children, often at great cost to himself.
He would often come and visit me in Atlanta and then Hollywood, although it cost him interviews for movies, plays, and TV programs. He would then hasten back home to his beloved Oyster Bay because he loved my sister so much. He wanted to spend as many months a year with her and then with me.
An actor's life is extremely difficult. Getting a part is dependent on having the right look and being at the right place at the right time. When you have a major part, things are great, but when you don't, there is nothing.
I remember many days when we had nothing, but my father always had faith that God would provide. God always did. He provided in miraculous ways.
In spite of the financial highs and lows, my father never complained. He trusted God so much that he sent Kathy to Westover and Vassar and me to St. Paul's and Dartmouth. Thus, my father prepared me for faith in God and for the vagaries of ministry.
Furthermore, when I came to know God after years of rebellion, I saw how much of Him was reflected in my father, who gave himself so selflessly for his family.
Although I wept at his passing, I also rejoiced that Dad had gone ahead of me.
Today, we are confused about what is right and what is wrong, and about what makes us happy and what makes us sad. Many have forgotten that life is tenuous and can be cut short in an instant. Many who ponder the afterlife want it their way without thinking about the consequences.
They are in a sense like the inhabitants of the TV program "The Twilight Zone," who get what they want only to find out that it is not what they really want.
My father was not confused. He lived his values and was certain about the meaning of life. He listened to his family and blessed those who knew him. He saw his whole family come to know the Truth that set them free from the confusions, delusions, and demons of our age. He came to know and understand that Jesus Christ is the only Way.
God gave him faith, which is a gift.
I miss Dad. I love him and thank him for what he did for me. And I look forward to joining him in heaven.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Commentator Wayne Allen Root has explained that the controversy over Jeffrey Epstein, his death and his files, are tarnishing the administration of President Donald Trump.
It was announced earlier that Epstein's death, in a New York jail, was suicide, and that there was no "client list" among his effects, regarding his known activities involving pedophilia and friendships with high-profile personalities such as Bill Gates and Bill Clinton.
That determination provoked a flood of outrage from even Trump supporters, who suspected a cover-up.
Root explained he's known as "the most fiery and loyal champion, celebrator and defender of President Donald J. Trump- the greatest patriot and President of my lifetime," and sticking to the "raw truth."
He warns that Trump needs, now, to "deal with" the statement that there is no Epstein list.
"It looks like a cover-up," he warned.
But a new report this week confirms that that dispute may not yet be closed.
It is Washington watchdog Judicial Watch that confirms it has filed a joint status report in federal court confirming that "the Justice Department and the FBI continue to search for and review records in response to Judicial Watch's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for records regarding Jeffrey Epstein."
"The lawsuit requests any records on the identities of clients or associates of Epstein."
The organization explained that disclosure "is at odds with the leaked, unsigned and undated Justice Department/FBI memo that suggests no more Epstein records would be disclosed to the American public."
It was Judicial Watch that sued the DOJ and FBI in April "after they failed to adequately respond to three separate FOIA requests for records filed in February 2025 concerning Epstein, including a specific request for records 'depicting the identities of clients or associates of Epstein.' Epstein document requests were sent to the Justice Department's Office of Information Policy, the Criminal Division, and two separate requests were sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)."
The status report confirmed that the FBI "has run its initial searches and is in the process of reviewing those search results," and the FBI's efforts "are ongoing."
Further, at this point, the FBI "does not yet have an anticipated number of documents or anticipated dates for release.
The same response from the Executive Office of United States Attorneys was given to the court.
A 200-page report on Epstein was unleashed earlier, but the latest unsigned statement suggests no more is coming.
"The Justice Department and FBI are sending out contradictory messages: telling the American people that no more Epstein material will be released, while telling the federal court in our case that the Epstein FOIA review is proceeding," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "But no matter, our FOIA lawsuit for the Epstein material continues. We will be relentless in demanding transparency under law."
Root delivered his verdict, after praising Trump for huge accomplishments in a short time for America, "I'm guessing half of Congress was on the Epstein list. Or certainly a lot of prominent Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle. I think Trump may have made the decision to stop the release of the Epstein list in return for passing the 'Big Beautiful Bill' – thereby preventing a massive tax increase on the American people – that could have led to an economic collapse. And/or … B) Trump made a moral decision that so many political leaders, business leaders and influential people who run this country were on this list, that releasing it would bring down much more than the Deep State. It would bring down our entire nation and our U.S. economy – leading to a collapse and Great Depression."
Root said now there is no choice: The list must be released.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
USAID workers for years have handed out billions of U.S. tax dollars to other nations, their programs, their politicians, their agendas.
Some were completely off-base when it came to U.S. interests and some simply were in support of the ideologies of the USAID.
Now, under President Trump, multiple thousands of USAID workers are now ex-employees, with the official closure of the agency just days ago and a few jobs considered important transferred to the State department, with a few hundred leftover workers.
But among those thousands, now, apparently is a contingent planning to sabotage the United States.
U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri, paraphrased the intent: "If you stop letting us run America, we'll start a color revolution and overthrow your democratically elected government." He added, "These people are making the case for their own firing better than we ever could."
It was at Twitchy that the plans were noted.
"Some of the democracy-building experts President Donald Trump fired this year from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department are now reapplying the skills and knowledge they built up over decades to undermine Trump's power," it said. "For years, these officials were stationed across the globe actively supporting opposition movements in autocratic nations. Now they've got time, a network of former colleagues and a growing sense of moral indignation."
One said, in an interview with NOTUS, "Take it from those of us who worked in authoritarian countries: We've become one. They were so quick to disband AID, the group that supposedly instigates color revolutions. But they've done a very foolish thing. You just released a bunch of well-trained individuals into your population. If you kept our offices going and had us play solitaire in the office, it might have been safer to keep your regime."
Twitchy noted, "That sounds a lot like sedition, a lot like a direct threat, and a lot like someone who belongs in a jail cell, not in an office at Foggy Bottom."
One observer suggested maybe not everything being planned is serious.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
In the wake of a new FBI memo claiming there was no client list of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, despite U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi saying she had it on her "desk right now to review," the White House is now saying law enforcement did its job, and "the Trump administration is committed to truth and to transparency."
During a press briefing Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked point blank: "The DOJ and the FBI have now concluded there was no Jeffrey Epstein client list. What do you tell MAGA supporters who say they want anyone involved in Jeffrey Epstein's alleged crimes to be held accountable?"
Leavitt replied: "The Trump administration is committed to truth and to transparency. That's why the attorney general and the FBI director pledged at the president's direction to do an exhaustive review of all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes and his death. And they put out a memo in conclusion of that review.
"There was material they did not release because, frankly, it was incredibly graphic and it contained child pornography which is not something that's appropriate for public consumption.
"But they committed to an exhaustive investigation. That's what they did and they provided the results of that. That's transparency."
Peter Doocy of Fox News immediately followed up on her answer, saying: "According to the report, this systematic review revealed no incriminating client list. So what happened to the Epstein client list that the attorney general said she had on her desk?"
Leavitt responded: "I think if you go back and look at what the attorney general said in that interview which was on your network, Fox News … ."
"I've got the quote," Doocy indicated, then proceeding to read it.
"[Fox News anchor] John Roberts said, 'DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen?' And she (Bondi) said, 'It's sitting on my desk right now to review."
Leavitt answered: "Yes, she was saying the entirety of all of the paperwork, all of the paper in relation to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. That's what the attorney general was referring to and I'll let her speak for that. But when it comes to the FBI and the Department of Justice, they are more than committed to ensuring that bad people are put behind bars."
In a March interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News, Bondi indicated "a truckload of evidence arrived. It's now in the possession of the FBI. Kash [Patel] is going to get me and himself really a detailed report as to why all these documents and evidence had been withheld. W're gonna go through it, go through it as fast as we can, but go through it very cautiously to protect all the victims of Epstein, 'cause there are a lot victims."
"We believe in transparency, and America has the right to know," Bondi added.
In May, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino were facing fierce criticism for asserting Epstein indeed killed himself in jail.
As WorldNetDaily reported, Maria Bartiromo of Fox News on "Sunday Morning Futures" asked both officials why many Americans don't buy the government assertion that Epstein committed suicide in a New York City holding facility.
"They have a right to their opinion," Patel said, "but as someone who has worked as a public defender, as a prosecutor who's been in that prison system, who's been in the Metropolitan Detention Center, who's been in segregated housing, you know a suicide when you see one, and that's what that was."
Bongino said: "He killed himself. I've seen the whole file. He killed himself."
"I call bullsh**," said Infowars host Alex Jones.
"Overall, I think Kash Patel and Dan Bongino are doing a great job, but on this claim that Epstein's death is not a cover-up I call bullsh**."
Jones posted a lengthy comment on X, indicating: "EPSTEIN confirmed a suic*de? Maria sits down with FBI's Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, who claim Epstein did, in fact, commit suic*de. Now, let's get into why people do not believe this theory."
Number one, Maurene Comey, Fmr. disgraced FBI Dir. James Comey's daughter was in charge of Epstein's alleged suic*de investigation, which isn't a good start, and Maurene allegedly lost the jailhouse CCTV tapes as a result of a technical error.
Then on top of the "lost/erased tapes," through a "technical error," both security guards "fell asleep," who were supposed to be watching Epstein's cell, who was on 24hr surveillance for suicide watch which is standard procedure in every jail and being a high-profile prisoner.
There are rumors and a video you can search which claims nitrous oxide was used to knock the guards out, which then Epstein was taken out by another individual. Others claim the guards were paid not to talk.
Either way, for the tapes to mysteriously go missing or erased and to have not one, but TWO guards both fall asleep coincidentally, the odds of both of these happenings to occur at the same time in the same place are astronomical.
We know the Comey's are corrupt. James Comey just sent out a dogwhistle to have our sitting president assassinated. Why do you think he would do that? What [do] Comey, the Clintons, and the Obamas all have to hide? Are you paying attention to Trump's recent posts? Are you starting to connect the dots? Remember, there are no coincidences.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A former Space Force officer's objection to the military's Biden-era COVID-19 vaccine mandate still haunts him over three years later.
WorldNetDaily spoke to Joshua Zermeno, a former officer who dedicated part of his career to space superiority, having served in the U.S. military for 13 years. In August 2021, Zermeno objected to then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's military COVID-19 shot mandate, questioning both its "efficacy and legality." For this, he received two Letters of Reprimand (LORs) and a "Do Not Promote" recommendation that blocked his promotion to major. He was also banned from government buildings and required to work from home.
With his career collapsing in front of him, Zermeno attempted to voluntarily separate from the military in October 2021, but was told his separation was "not in the best interest of the Air Force and Space Force." In the week following this statement, he said base leadership initiated Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) action against him. Despite the rescission of the COVID-19 shot mandate in January 2023, he was passed over for promotion a second time. Seven months later, he was forced to separate from the military entirely.
Nevertheless, Zermeno would consider returning to Space Force, but has been offered "zero guidance" from the Department of Defense and the Air Force's Total Force Service Center, which manages Space Force matters.
The former Space Force officer said stories like his are among "the most censored topics globally." He pointed out, "Many service members and veterans have turned to social media to share their experiences, but censorship limits reach, and account deletions risk erasing these stories." Even his own X account has been "targeted and tagged with 'Visibility limited: this Post may violate X's rules against Hateful Conduct,' despite its professional content."
To counter the censorship, Zermeno published "DISOBEYING AN UNLAWFUL ORDER: A SPACE FORCE OFFICER'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM" in June 2025. It was written "to preserve history of military's COVID-19 shot mandate permanently," he said, adding that his desire is for the book to reach current and future military leaders to "study, learn from, and prevent such mistakes from ever happening again."
He told WND, "Current and future military leaders must understand the mandate's impact on service members, families, force readiness, and national security to learn from these mistakes."
In the book, Zermeno reveals:
"This memoir is my raw, unfiltered reckoning: an exposé that dismantles the military's false narratives, revealing a mandate that crushed free thinkers who dared to question right from wrong. Its brutal side effect was a purge of some of the military's sharpest minds, leaving shattered lives across every branch through coercion, public shaming and ruthless career destruction. I was one of tens of thousands of individuals purged from service – skilled professionals whose training, experience and institutional knowledge can't be replaced by new recruits, a loss that weakened our military's readiness at a time when global threats demand strength."
According to Zermeno, "The COVID-19 mandate ranks among the gravest errors in military history and must not be forgotten." He adds, "Service members, force readiness and national security continue to feel its negative impacts," adding that "the mandate negatively affected tens of thousands of service members – hundreds of thousands, including spouses and children."
Because he continues to advocate for righting the wrongs associated with the mandate, it appears the attacks against Zermeno have not ended. Ten days after publishing his book, his current employer was contacted by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) to initiate a supplemental information request about his eligibility for Top Secret clearance.
He recently wrote about the ordeal on X:
For Zermeno, the inquiry from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency is not a coincidence. He continues to wait to hear more from DCSA, as his second career – one that requires Top Secret clearance – hangs in the balance.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Jimmy Swaggart, the charismatic, but scandal-conflicted, televangelist whose accomplishments included founding a church, a school, musical projects and multiple books, has died at the age of 90.
A report at PJMedia explained he was "one of the most controversial figures among Christian leaders in the late 20th century."
The death was announced by his family in a Facebook post, which said, "Today, our hearts are heavy as we share that Brother Swaggart has finished his earthly race and entered into the presence of His Savior, Jesus Christ. Today was the day he has sung about for decades. He met his beloved Savior and entered the portals of glory. At the same time, we rejoice knowing that we will see him again one day."
The post quoted 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (KJV): "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."
President Donald Trump reacted, saying: "Very sad, Jimmy Swaggart passed away today! He was an incredible Man of Faith and, as our Nation's longest serving Televangelist, inspired millions with his Great Love of God and Country. Our hearts and prayers are with his wonderful wife Frances, his son Donnie, and their entire family. Jimmy will be deeply missed!"
He started preaching at age 20 in 1955.
"Music was a family affair for Swaggart; his musical cousins included rock-and-roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis and country crooner Mickey Gilley. He recorded his first gospel album in 1958, which began a music career that sold over 17 million records and netted him multiple Dove awards," the report noted.
His ministry during the 1980s reached more than 3,000 stations with his television programming.
He held services in packed stadiums, founded Family Worship Center and a Bible college.
"His congregation and Bible college were aligned with the Assemblies of God denomination," the report said.
His scandals hit starting about 1988 when he was photographed with a prostitute, which prompted punishment from the Assemblies of God.
In a tear-filled sermon he said, "I have sinned against you. I beg you to forgive me."
Years later, the report said, he was stopped by California law enforcement and found to be in the company of another prostitute.
The report said, "Jimmy Swaggart was yet another example of fallen humanity — sometimes with misguided attitudes, heinous sins, and unique theology — serving a perfect [God] in the best way he could. Prayers for his family and loved ones."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump, who is famous for calling out "fake news" among national reporters, has just dropped a verbal bomb on Dan Alexander of Forbes Magazine, calling him an "untalented writer" whose publication "continues to hang around like a bad disease."
In post on Truth Social Monday, Trump said: "Not that it really matters, but a terribly untalented writer for badly failing Forbes Magazine, Dan Alexander, who probably can't get a meaningful job in the business, has written so inaccurately about me that it is ridiculous.
"Many others also, the media is mostly Fake News, but Forbes doesn't even try to get things right. I haven't spoken to these SleazeBags in years, they don't want the facts, and they're so inaccurate (purposely!) about everything.
"I would have thought Forbes would be DEAD by now, but it continues to hang around like a bad disease. Isn't it owned by a hostile nation?
"Anyway, that's what happens when you have bad reporters with evil intentions. Eventually the publication dies. I've happily seen it over, and over, again!"
While the president didn't specify what reports prompted his opinion, Alexander's most recent postings this month on X and Forbes may provide a clue, as the writer claimed to have "the scoop on the backroom dealing."
"The Trump family touts its 'all in' commitment to crypto," Alexander said on X.
"Behind the scenes, however, their company has reduced its stake in one of their primary crypto ventures. I have the scoop on the backroom dealing … ."
Alexander links to his story where he states: "One of Donald Trump's companies reduced its stake in World Liberty Financial, a key crypto venture for the president, from 60% to 40% at some point in the last 11 days, according to an analysis of fine print on World Liberty's website. The change, which came with zero fanfare, is the latest indication that the president—or someone working on his behalf—continues conducting backroom deals while he serves in office."
Another post by Alexander states: "Donald Trump lied about the square footage of his properties for years. His underlings now have to figure out how big they actually are."
His report begins: "Donald Trump spent so many years lying about the square footage of his properties that his own company did not even seem sure of their true size. Under oversight from a court-appointed monitor, the Trump Organization recently tried to sort it all out."
Meanwhile, as WorldNetDaily reported, Trump on Sunday floated the idea of getting journalists to identify the leaker of a Defense Intelligence Agency report on recent U.S. military strikes on Iran.
Appearing on "Sunday Morning Futures" on the Fox News Channel, Trump told anchor Maria Bartiromo: "They should be prosecuted."
"Who specifically?" asked Bartiromo.
"The people that leaked it," replied Trump.
"We can find out. If they want to, they could find out easily. You go up and tell the reporter, 'National security, who gave it [to you]?'
"You have to do that, and I suspect we'll be doing things like that," Trump continued.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
One note: Zal uses the unusual literary device of telling his own life story in the third person, referring to himself as "he" and "him" throughout. This is because, as he explained to WND, he is not the same person he was earlier in life. Looking back, however, Zal has managed to piece together a powerful and disturbingly revealing assessment of the revolution – and why and how it happened.
[Cyrus Zal] had arrived in Iran from Dubai in March of 1978 on the same day that one of the first mass demonstrations had taken place against the Shah in the city of Tabriz in northern Iran. The demonstrations and protests had started a couple of months earlier in January of 1978 in the city of Qom, the religious center of the Shi'a branch of Islam in Iran.
It was obvious to everyone that the Americans who were advising the Shah on what he should do, from the time that the demonstrations first started until the bitter end of the Revolution, had given the Shah terrible, useless and very harmful and counter-productive advice. The advice and counsel given to the Shah by the Americans was so bad and counter-productive that he ended up being driven out of his own country, and it was President Jimmy Carter and the Americans who pushed him out.
It should be noted that the Shah's chief advisors were Americans, and it was these American advisors who gave the final bad advice for the Shah to flee Iran on January 16, 1979, paving the way for Ayatollah Khomeini to leave France and to come to Iran on February 1, 1979, to take over the leadership of the country:
In fact, it was individuals in the American foreign policy establishment, led by Henry Kissinger, who had wanted the Shah deposed beginning several years before the Revolution, and with the cooperation of President Jimmy Carter, it was really President Carter and the American foreign policy establishment who deposed the Shah and forced him to leave Iran, a betrayal of the Shah that has had tragic and terrible consequences ever since for Iran, for America and for the entire world.
In betraying the Shah, President Carter (God rest his soul) traded a true friend of America for a terrorist regime that proudly and arrogantly shouts out "Death to America!" and a regime that to this day still refers to America as "the Great Satan" and to Israel as "the Little Satan." Before his death, President Carter never publicly took responsibility or accepted blame for betraying a true friend like the Shah and trading him for an insane and bloodthirsty enemy like Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (the supreme leader and first dictator of the Islamic government).
By President Carter's intentional act of losing Iran, and thus losing stability in the Middle East and elsewhere, he was responsible for unleashing the terrorist Islamic Regime on the world, with terrible consequences still occurring to this very day.
Cyrus was always an observer right in the middle of the demonstrations against America after Khomeini came to power, and he watched as the demonstrators performed on cue for the news crews who videotaped the events. Without the presence of news cameras to videotape the crowd, there was a carnival and happy atmosphere among the people pretending to be demonstrators, as they were having a big outdoor picnic and celebration, complete with food and snacks. But as soon as the news cameras would show up, these people would rush to the news cameras, affect an angry demeanor and, rhythmically beating their arms into the air to emphasize their words, they would begin shouting in Persian over and over "Death to America! Death to America!" These were ordinary people putting on a fake show for the fake news cameras and the fake news media of the day.
Anyone watching these news casts in America and around the world would undoubtedly think this was an angry mob ready to go to war against America, but they would be completely wrong. In reality, these "demonstrators" were "performers" who put on a very convincing show for the news cameras. As soon as the news cameras were gone, the people would revert to the happy and carnival atmosphere they had before the cameras showed up, and would begin enjoying the outdoor picnic again, until the next news camera crew showed up. Of course, the news reporters who accompanied the news cameras knew it was all an act and pure fake news, but why ruin a good story with actual facts? "Fake news" seemed to be the hallmark of the so-called "news media" covering Iran before, during and after the Revolution.
The most interesting conclusion reached by him about the aftermath of the Revolution was the real reason why Khomeini authorized the storming of the U.S. Embassy by "militants" and the subsequent taking of the American hostages who worked at the Embassy. To his knowledge, no other historians or analysts have reached the same conclusion because they were not eyewitnesses, and they did not have feet on the ground in Tehran like he did.
Here is the real reason for Khomeini's taking of the American Embassy and holding of the hostages:
While always referring to America as "the Great Satan," and with having people in the streets pretending to enthusiastically yell "Death to America!" for the fake news media and cameras, Khomeini and the entire Islamic government were chagrined, angry and embarrassed to see the many thousands and thousands of people who would line up day after day after day at the American Embassy in Tehran to try to obtain visas to go to America. (Many of these people waiting in line for visas to America were undoubtedly some of the very same people who were yelling "Death to America!" in the streets for the benefit of the fake news cameras.)
It was a great embarrassment and a harsh judgment on the Islamic regime, and a great embarrassment for Khomeini personally, that so many thousands of people were visibly trying to flee from Iran to live in America, the country officially declared by Khomeini to be the "Great Satan" and the Islamic regime's number one arch enemy. The people lining up every day in the thousands to go to America represented a big, intentional poke in the eye to Khomeini and the Islamic Regime. It was a highly visible, stark and public rejection of Khomeini and his Islamic Regime occurring day after day at the American Embassy, and a severe counteraction by Khomeini became necessary to demolish this peaceful, quiet, but very damaging and subversive, "counter-revolution" of people openly thumbing their nose at Khomeini and his Islamic Regime by going to America.
As of November 4, 1979, the day that the Embassy was stormed by militants and the hostages were taken, Cyrus had been employed for several months by Iran Air, the national airline of Iran, as an instructor to teach English to the cadet pilots who would one day be piloting aircraft for Iran Air. English is the universal language of air controllers in all international flights, and all pilots of all countries had to be proficient in English before they could be licensed as commercial pilots.
The Iran Air building where he taught English was only about a block and a half away from the American Embassy. He would always walk by the Embassy in the early morning when he reported to work, and again walk by it when he got off work in the afternoon to catch a taxi to his home in the northern part of Tehran. He would see the unending long lines of Iranians, with people standing 8 or 9 abreast on the broad sidewalks outside the high walls of the huge Embassy complex, patiently waiting to gain entry to the Visa Section via an outdoor entrance door which was in the back corner of the Embassy. These people were all trying to get visas to travel to America, and some of them even camped overnight to save their place in line in their desperation to get to America.
The Embassy occupied a huge square area of land, with each of its four sides consisting of several big city blocks, and the line of people trying to get visas to America were all lined up on one side of the Embassy, and the line with 8 or 9 people abreast continued for many, many blocks down the street away from the Embassy. People near the front of the line looked like they had camped out the night before to save their place in line. The line was seemingly without end, as he could never see the end of the line when he arrived in the morning to report to work at Iran Air. When he got off from work in the late afternoon, the line had not seemed to have shrunk at all, as he could still not see the end of the line, which went on for many blocks far away from the Embassy. But he did notice that the line was definitely moving forward, because the people in line he saw in the afternoon were always different folks from the people who were in line in the morning when he arrived for work.
These multitudes of people seemed to be openly mocking Khomeini and his mullahs day after day after day by voting with their feet – in effect, by conveying a very unfavorable and unmistakable visual for everyone to see, and giving the unspoken and unmistakable message that going to America (the supposed Great Satan!) was so much more preferable to living in Iran under the Islamic rule of the mullahs! That people were willing to go to such very great trouble, even camping out overnight in the streets, to give them a small chance to go to America, was a very unfavorable and damning judgment by the people of Khomeini and his Islamic Regime. Khomeini, a very prideful man, simply could not allow it to continue.
About nine months after the Revolution, and with no end in sight of people lining up to get visas for America, the situation finally became intolerable for Khomeini and the mullahs, as the optics were just terrible for Khomeini personally – thousands and thousands of Iranians lining up every day trying to flee from Iran to go to the country of the supposed enemy! No other foreign embassy in Tehran came close to generating the multitudes of people and the long lines found at the American Embassy – in fact, no other embassy in Tehran generated any crowds, or any lines at all, for Iranians wanting to obtain visas to go to that country.
Of course, none of this was ever reported by the fake Western "news" media "reporting" from Iran – for some reason, the news media had all become the public relations arm of Khomeini and his Islamic Regime, and they chose not to report any news as being seen unfavorable to the Regime. Since the fake news media had all unanimously promoted Khomeini as the "savior" of Iran before he came to Iran, they were all deeply invested in making sure Khomeini would continue to enjoy the illusion of success after he became the Supreme Leader of the country.
Khomeini and the mullahs were forced to do something drastic to end this embarrassing and intolerable situation representing a public slap in their faces administered by many thousands of ordinary Iranians publicly showing their preference for America over the Islamic Republic of Iran. Nothing significant or important was ever done at that time without Khomeini's specific approval and authorization, and Khomeini decided that it was finally time to do something about the strong rebuke and great embarrassment the Iranian people were inflicting on him by their very public, but quiet and peaceful, rejection of the Islamic Regime at the American Embassy.
Khomeini found the logical pretext for the attack on the Embassy when the deposed Shah was admitted into the United States as a humanitarian gesture for treatment of his advanced and fatal cancer. Khomeini demanded that the Shah be sent back immediately to Iran to stand trial for his supposed "atrocities," a demand Khomeini knew would never be granted by the U.S. government. (Although it was rumored that President Carter, after the taking of the American hostages and their captivity for many months, had seriously considered accepting Khomeini's proposal to trade the Shah for the Embassy hostages.)
Shortly after the U.S. rejected Khomeini's demand for the return of the Shah to Iran to stand trial, Khomeini had his perfect pretext to invade and take the Embassy. The invasion took place at his command. Thus, Khomeini was able to shrewdly hide and disguise his real reason for taking the Embassy – to get rid of the long, embarrassing lines of thousands and thousands of Iranians trying to escape Iran by seeking visas, or even worse, asylum, in hated America.
With the Embassy taken over by the Iranian "militants" (they were probably Iranian military, including special forces), there were no more long lines of Iranians outside the Embassy every day publicly thumbing their noses at Khomeini and poking him and the mullahs in the eye by showing everyone their preference to go to America instead of staying in Iran under Islamic rule. In short, there were no more harmful and embarrassing optics every day of thousands and thousands of Iranians openly rejecting Khomeini and his Islamic Republic as a place where they wanted to live. Totalitarian regimes always seek to keep their people captive in their own country by making it difficult, dangerous or impossible to leave, and now Iranians had to travel to other countries in order to obtain a visa to travel to America, something that was out of reach for many Iranians.
Of course, the Fake Western News Media to this day has never acknowledged or provided any coverage at all to these many, many thousands of Iranians lined up day after day and month after month at the Embassy who were trying to get visas to go to America. Not surprisingly, the Fake News Media never bothered to interview any of those many thousands and thousands of people in the lines, who undoubtedly had interesting and newsworthy stories to tell, and so people in the West have never been made aware of this important and newsworthy development which had gone on for many months at the American Embassy after the Revolution, from February to November of 1979.
These lines at the Embassy ran counter to the false narrative that the Fake News Media was promoting at that time – namely, that the Revolution was a huge success and a good thing for Iran and that it had the universal support of all Iranians – and so there were no "news" reports about these many thousands of Iranians who were lined desperately trying to flee the Islamic Regime. As a news person, you had to be willfully blind not to see the importance and newsworthiness of the thousands of people lined up every day in hopes of obtaining a visa for America, but the Fake News Media of that day shamelessly lived up to its name and never reported a word of any of this amazing story.
As a result of this fake news, historians and commentators to this day falsely claim that the refusal of America to return the Shah to Iran for trial was the triggering event for the invasion of the Embassy, but that is simply false and inaccurate. That was merely the pretext Khomeini used to disguise the real reason why the Embassy had to be taken – to get rid of the embarrassing long lines of Iranians eager to flee from the Islamic rule in Iran to enjoy true freedom in America.
On that fateful day of November 4, 1979, when the American Embassy was stormed by militants and taken, Cyrus got off work from Iran Air as usual in the mid-afternoon. As was his custom, he walked by the American Embassy on his way to catch a taxi home to see if anything of interest was happening there. As he got near the Embassy, he could hear some kind of commotion with loud chanting and yelling. When he arrived at the front of the Embassy, he saw that there were about one hundred or more very young school children lined up in the middle of the street, facing the main entrance of the Embassy. The Embassy had a big wall surrounding it and the children were facing the wall, which had a large and very high gate which could be opened to allow vehicles to enter the Embassy. The front gate was firmly closed and locked now.
The school children, all boys who looked to be no more than five or six years old, were raising their arms and enthusiastically yelling (in Persian) "Death to America!" The children were being led in their chants by numerous mullahs, who were prompting the children so that the yelling could be done in unison. Many of the children were even smiling and laughing as they yelled "Death to America!" The children looked like they were enjoying themselves immensely, as they got a lot of attention from the many bystanders watching the event.
He watched the scene in amusement for about half an hour, wondering if the situation would "escalate" into something more interesting for him to see. But the children just kept yelling the same death chant over and over, and other than the many spectators, he did not notice any adults who were part of the demonstration. There were the mullahs who were in charge of the children, but they were responsible for watching over the children as the kids were much too young to be left alone without supervision. He decided it was not worth his time to stay and watch, because he could not see or anticipate any further developments worth watching. So he left.
But was he ever wrong thinking that there would not be any further developments! To his everlasting regret at what he had missed, he found out later that same day that he had missed one of the most historic and important events of the entire Revolution and its aftermath – the storming of the Embassy and the taking of American hostages by the professional and elite soldiers of the Iranian military, disguised and wrongfully identified by the Western media as "students" or "militant students." The hostages who were taken were mostly Embassy staff, diplomats, attachés and other American citizens, including the Marines assigned to protect the Embassy.
Apparently, the attackers (who self-identified as "students" to perpetrate the ruse that mere students had captured the Embassy) had used the children in the street as a diversion and a decoy, to lull the Embassy security forces (consisting of U.S. Marines) into a false sense of security that nothing threatening or eventful was going to happen that day. The children were also used as a potential shield to protect the attackers, if necessary. The attackers, like professional soldiers, had suddenly come up and had stormed and climbed the Embassy wall and gate in overwhelming numbers, and even without defenseless small children in the street, it is doubtful that the Marines were ever going to fire their weapons in defense of the Embassy at "civilians."
It was obvious that mere "students" could never have arranged for the diversion provided by the school kids and the accompanying mullahs – the attack was clearly a well-planned professional operation carried out by professionals on behalf of Khomeini and his regime. None of the news stories ever mentioned the scores of small children who were chanting in the street just prior to the attack on the Embassy. Even today, if you Google "Were there children at the scene on November 4, 1979 when the U.S. embassy was taken in Iran," you will find no results with respect to the scores of children facing the Embassy and chanting "Death to America" which he had witnessed himself with his own eyes.
The Embassy was quickly overrun and taken over by the attackers, who were supposedly a group of students belonging to an organization called the "Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line," with the "Imam" being Imam Khomeini himself. He thought it was more likely that these "students" were actually highly trained commandos and special forces from Iran's military branches.
The hostages were held for exactly 444 days, from November 4, 1979 until the day and the very hour when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the president of the United States on January 20, 1981. President Reagan was a strong president as compared to the weak and pitiful Jimmy Carter, and Khomeini and the mullahs realized that if they did not immediately free the hostages, President Reagan was likely to take aggressive action against Iran and the mullahs. The hostages were released a few minutes after Reagan was sworn in as president.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump's White House on Friday celebrated a peace deal signing between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an event that is ending three decades of war between the neighbors.
Vice President JD Vance praised Trump's role, "If I think about what I know about these two countries, for 30 years, pretty much the entire time that I can remember these two countries being in the news, much of the story has been about them fighting one another, about them killing one another. And now, we can look forward to a future where my children will look at this moment as the beginning of a new story, a story of prosperity and peace."
The U.S., under Trump, brokered the agreement, described as an attempt to end bloodshed in that part of the work.
Reports noted the agreement allows the U.S. to access the DRC's gold, copper and lithium deposits for development.
Trump said, "This is a tremendous breakthrough. In a few short months, we've now achieved peace between India and Pakistan, India and Iran, and the DRC and Rwanda, and a couple of others, also."