Vaccine stockpile Trump Admin promised to release doesn't exist . . . The additional stockpile of coronavirus vaccine doses promised to be released by the Trump administration this week does not actually exist, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Friday. Azar said Tuesday that a reserve supply of doses that were previously being held back would be released in full to states to speed up inoculations. States are learning the reserve doses they planned to receive aren’t coming. Daily Caller

 

Chinese and Russian vaccines in high demand as world scrambles for doses . . . Chinese and Russian manufacturers are seeing growing appetite from foreign buyers for their Covid-19 vaccines as the international scramble for jabs intensifies, despite lingering concerns over incomplete trial data and the rigour of domestic approval processes. Russia has agreed to sell its Sputnik V vaccine to countries including Algeria, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, while the two leading China has signed deals with more than a dozen countries including Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Philippines, Indonesia and Hungary. For Moscow and Beijing, both keen to see their pharmaceutical sectors compete internationally, the sales represent a significant political and commercial coup. Financial Times

 

China ties raise questions for Biden's top defense post pick . . . Joe Biden's pick for a top Pentagon post works at a research center partnered with China's Peking University, a school that has long been eyed as a security risk by western intelligence.
Colin Kahl, whom Biden tapped for undersecretary of defense for policy, has served as a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University since the beginning of 2018. The institute oversees the Stanford Center at Peking University in northern Beijing. Peking University has been linked to multiple espionage cases in the United States, recently updated its charter to require loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. Kahl is not the first Biden nominee whose employer has business entanglements in China. Washington Free Beacon

 

 

Biden's pick for Secretary of Homeland Security raked in millions at corporate law firm . . . Alejandro Mayorkas, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of homeland security, received $3.3 million last year as a partner at his law firm, where he represented a defense contractor accused of kickbacks to secure a Department of Energy contract and a utility company found responsible for an explosion that killed one person in Massachusetts. Mayorkas, who served as deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Barack Obama, also faced an investigation during the Obama admin regarding a visa program he oversaw as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A 2015 report from the DHS inspector general said Mayorkas “exerted improper influence” to help politically-connected Democrats navigate the EB-5 visa program, which awards green cards to foreigners who invest in American companies. Daily Caller

 

Forced from Obama Admin for praising Mao, Anita Dunn to return to White House . . . President-elect Joe Biden will tap Anita Dunn, an Obama-administration alumna who praised Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong’s political philosophy, for senior White House adviser. Dunn’s last stint in the White House ended after just seven months, when she resigned after former Fox News anchor Glenn Beck aired a clip of the then-communications director saying Mao was one of her "favorite political philosophers." Dunn worked as senior adviser for the Biden campaign from 2019 until last spring when she took over its operations following a disastrous Iowa caucus showing. She then became co-chair of Biden’s transition team after his victory in November. Washington Free Beacon

 

Trump's job approval steady after impeachment . . . President Trump’s job approval rating held firm despite becoming the first president impeached twice and weathering blame for the attack on the U.S. Capitol, a new poll shows. Mr. Trump garnered a positive job approval rating from 43% of voters, slightly down from the 45% rating he received before the November election, according to an NBC News poll released Sunday. Mr. Trump’s rating was bolstered by solid support among Republicans. Nearly 9 in 10 Republican voters — 87% — approved of his performance. His support in the party was barely moved from the pre-election survey when he had garnered a positive rating from 89% of Republican voters. Washington Times

 

 

 

Giuliani says he won't be part of Trump impeachment defense team . . . President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Sunday he won’t be part of the president’s impeachment defense team.
Giuliani said the reason is because he gave a speech at The Ellipse in Washington Jan. 6. “I am a witness and therefore unable to participate in court or Senate chamber,” he told ABC News.
A campaign spokesman said Trump “has not yet made a determination as to which lawyer or law firm will represent him.” Epoch Times

 

Liz Cheney suffered impeachment vote blowback at home . . . Rep. Liz Cheney’s vote to impeach President Trump put her political future in jeopardy back home in Wyoming, revealed a state GOP official. Doubts quickly surfaced about her viability in the 2022 GOP primary after she announced her support of impeachment and then lead nine other House Republicans on Wednesday in voting to impeach Mr. Trump for inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. “She couldn’t win a primary today for dog catcher,” said Martin Kimmet, chairman of the Republican Party in Park County, Wyoming. Washington Times

 

Swalwell rejoins Homeland Security Committee despite alleged ties with Chinese spy . . . Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell announced Friday he was rejoining the House Committee on Homeland Security just weeks after he was allegedly linked to a Chinese spy. “I’m honored and excited to rejoin active service on @HomelandDems, where I plan to focus on highlighting and finding solutions to the scourge of white nationalist extremism,” Swalwell tweeted. Daily Caller

 

FBI, Justice Department knew there was no Russia collusion by spring of 2017 . . . The top Justice Department official in early 2017 overseeing the FBI’s Russia probe testified he was briefed as many as six times on its status and was told there was no evidence of Trump campaign collusion, a newly released transcript shows.
The testimony of Dana J. Boente is significant because during this time the FBI took major steps to expand the probe. “There was no ‘there’ there,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, who released Mr. Boente’s June 22 closed testimony. Washington Times

 

 

Army Secretary says commanders on look out for potential insider threats . . . U.S. Army commanders are on the look out for any potential insider threats ahead of inauguration day, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said in a recent interview. McCarthy said that defense officials are keeping an eye out for threats from within their ranks. But so far, he and other leaders have not seen any evidence of such threats, and the vetting of National Guard troops in Washington has not flagged any problems. Epoch times

 

 

 

Saudis vowed to stop executing minors . . . Five people who committed crimes in Saudi Arabia as minors have yet to have their death sentences revoked, according to two rights groups, nine months after the kingdom’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) announced an end to capital punishment for juvenile offenders. The state-backed HRC in April cited a March royal decree by King Salman stipulating that individuals sentenced to death for crimes committed while minors will no longer face execution and would instead serve prison terms of up to 10 years in juvenile detention centers. Reuters

 

 

China is the only major economy to report economic growth for 2020 . . . China’s economy expanded by 2.3% in 2020, roaring back from a historic contraction in the early months of the year to become the only major world economy to grow in what was a pandemic-ravaged year. China’s growth makes it an outlier among large economies. The World Bank expects the U.S. economy to have contracted by 3.6% and the eurozone’s to have shrunk by 7.4% in 2020, contributing to a global economic pullback of 4.3%. China’s economy, the world’s second largest, finished the year on a high note. Wall Street Journal

 

Trump Admin issues last minute sanctions on Iran, China, Cuba . . . The Trump administration on Friday continued its last-minute push to apply new sanctions on the adversarial regimes in Iran, China, and Cuba, solidifying a pressure campaign that will give the incoming Biden administration a range of options for dealing with the ongoing threats posed by these nations. New sanctions were slapped on Iran for its arms proliferation in the region and efforts to skirt measures aimed at blocking the country from importing steel. Several Cuban and Chinese officials were also sanctioned for widespread human rights abuses, according to information provided by the State and Treasury Departments. Washington Free Beacon

 

Parler back online with an update from its CEO . . .  Parler’s website suddenly appeared online on Jan. 17 with a message from its CEO, John Matze, who said, “Hello world, is this thing on?” Matze also issued a temporary status update. “We believe privacy is paramount and free speech essential, especially on social media. Our aim has always been to provide a nonpartisan public square where individuals can enjoy and exercise their rights to both. We will resolve any challenge before us and plan to welcome all of you back soon. We will not let civil discourse perish!” Epoch Times

 

Four key points about Trump and "Incitement Law" . . . If and when the Senate holds its second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, this time after he no longer is president, one argument in his defense may well be based on a legal precedent that has guided incitement cases since 1969.  The House of Representatives impeached the president Wednesday for “incitement to insurrection.” Here are four things to know about the crime of incitement. Daily Signal

 

Annual March for Life will be held virtually, not in person . . . The annual March for Life has been canceled in person this year, and the march’s president says this is only partly due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The protection of all of those who participate in the annual March, as well as the many law enforcement personnel and others who work tirelessly each year to ensure a safe and peaceful event, is a top priority of the March for Life,” March for Life President Jeanne Mancini announced Friday. Daily Signal

 

 

Naked fugitive rescued from tree by fishermen . . . Two fishermen have rescued a naked fugitive who they found sitting on a tree branch in Australian crocodile habitat. Kev Joiner and Cam Fraust, both recreational fishers, found the 40-year-old in East Point, close to the city of Darwin on Sunday. The friends said they heard Luke Voskresensky shout out for help as they were setting crab traps from their dinghy in the swamp. Voskresensky - who was covered in mud, cuts and insect bites - begged them for a drink of clean water, and said that he had been living off snails for four days. He had a nest made up in the tree, and he was only laying a meter above the water and there were crocs in the water. Mr Faust gave Voskresensky his shorts and a beer as the trio went back to Darwin. There was an ambulance crew waiting upon their arrival. Voskresensky was taken to a hospital, where he was placed under police guard as he was treated. Police said he had been on bail after being charged with armed robbery, multiple aggravated assaults, deprivation of liberty and stealing. He had removed his electronic monitoring device last week to evade police. Sky News