For weeks we’ve known that Special Counsel Jack Smith is in charge of the the DOJ’s Trump classified documents probe and the DOJ’s Trump 1/6 probe. Over the weekend, new reporting revealed that Smith is now in charge of a long running DOJ criminal probe into Trump’s campaign finances.

On Monday, we all learned that Smith has subpoenaed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for his 2020 election communications with Trump, making Georgia the fifth state this past week where the DOJ has subpoenaed Trump communications from election officials.

This has led to a number of questions along the lines of, “Why is this just now finally happening?” What’s being missed here is that this isn’t the beginning of something. This is endgame stuff. Election officials like Raffensperger, who refused to go along with Trump’s criminal pressure, are friendly witnesses. They’ve done nothing wrong, they have no reason to fight the system, they’ve preserved this kind of evidence in case the DOJ subpoenaed it, and they’re no doubt dutifully turning it over as we speak, because why wouldn’t they?

It’s not a coincidence that right after the DOJ went into Trump’s home and seized classified documents, the DOJ grand jury process in the separate Trump 1/6 probe suddenly ramped up. It was as if the DOJ had been waiting to kick its Trump 1/6 probe into high gear until after it had confirmation that Trump had indeed stolen classified secrets, and now that it’s about to charge him for espionage, it’s preparing to also charge him with everything else.

I still suspect the DOJ may have been waiting to go into Trump’s home until it was able to covertly recover classified documents that Trump had already given to other bad actors, and didn’t want to set off anyone in a panic first. Let’s say you’re an international spy and you’re trafficking in classified intel that Trump gave you. If Trump gets indicted for election crimes, you’re suddenly concerned he’s going to take everyone down with him in all his criminal scandals, and so you go deep underground. Perhaps, in the name of national security, the federal government felt it couldn’t indict Trump on anything until it finished carrying out whatever clandestine operations it was pulling off with regard to the classified intel that Trump stole and no doubt distributed.

We may never fully learn what’s been going on behind the scenes all this time, even as outside observers have ludicrously claimed the DOJ was doing “nothing.” But now that the DOJ has finally managed to dispense with the special master stunt and is indeed just about ready to indict Trump for espionage, suddenly the DOJ is lining up the evidence trail to indict Trump for his other crimes as well. In other words, once Merrick Garland concluded that the DOJ was ready to move against Donald Trump, he brought in Jack Smith to be the closer.

The post It’s now clear that Special Counsel Jack Smith was brought in to be the closer against Donald Trump appeared first on Palmer Report.

(NewsNation) — Thousands of migrants are streaming into the El Paso Sector daily, seeking asylum ahead of an anticipated visit from the Department of Homeland Security secretary.

The U.S. Border Patrol’s acting El Paso Sector Chief Peter Jaquez said there have been on average about 2,400 daily migrant encounters involving people crossing into the area over the past weekend.

The influx of migrants intensifies as DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is expected to visit El Paso on Tuesday, NewsNation’s Ali Bradley reported.

Sources told Bradley that Border Patrol agents were instructed to get as many people processed by any means necessary ahead of the visit.

“Customs and Border Protection’s El Paso Sector on the Texas border with Mexico has seen an increase in encounters. In order to process individuals as safely and expeditiously as possible, Border Patrol agents from Big Bend and CBP Officers from El Paso Field Office are assisting with processing,” CBP said in a statement to NewsNation.

Border Patrol agents confirmed with Bradley that it is a common practice whenever a “higher up” comes to visit: They either move migrants to other stations to be processed or they process quickly and clear out the facilities.

Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez said on Morning in America that it is important for Mayorkis to visit with Border Patrol agents and local officials as well as local citizens that live in El Paso to find out what the concerns are and what DHS can do to stop the massive flow of migrants.

“El Paso has never experienced or had been impacted by such a mass migration situation ever. Now, you’re seeing overcrowding, where now migrants will be released into the city. That’s unacceptable because now it’s going to impact the local residents,” Olivarez said.

He said that something needs to be done and there needs to be a strategy or plan put into place to combat the influx of migrants.

In just three days, Border Patrol reported that more than 7,300 migrants crossed the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez — many of whom were part of a caravan. Agents said at least 2,000 have been released into the community each day. And even with that, there are still more than 5,600 people in Border Patrol custody, according to the city of El Paso’s dashboard.

On Monday, at least two El Paso nonprofit shelters reported being at capacity – a situation expected to turn more critical as caravan members are released, NewsNation affiliate Border Report reported.

Before the influx, a normal day estimated about 800-900 migrant encounters. Since the influx of migrants, Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales from Texas is calling for the city of El Paso to issue an emergency declaration in order to get additional resources to the city.

“It’s time for El Paso to issue an Emergency Declaration due to the border crisis,” Gonzales tweeted on Monday.

“We are in the middle of the worst border crisis in our nation’s history and that is measured through the number of drugs, deadly drugs coming over, the number of suicides, the number of migrant deaths, the number of gotaways— I mean every single metric has been at historic numbers,” Gonzales said.

Agents from multiple central processing centers told Bradley they are assisting remotely by conducting virtual processing of migrants.

While Mayorkas’s itinerary has not been released, it is expected that he will meet with agents and assess the situation in El Paso on Tuesday, just days from the expiration of Title 42 on Dec. 21, with no contingency plans in place.

“This is what the removal of Title 42 looks like: pure and utter chaos,” Gonzales told NewsNation.

Agents told Bradley they hope the secretary will announce a plan for the end of Title 42, but they fear that his visit will be more of a “dog and pony show.”

“Honestly it’s just a huge waste of time for everyone. He’s not going to change now he’s only going to tie up what little agents are actually in the field,” one agent said.

Another saying agent said, “I think he will be received very poorly. They’ve done nothing to help us.”

Several agents told Bradley that morale has never been lower.

In just the last month, two CBP agents were killed in the line of duty. There has also been an increase in Border Patrol suicides: 14 CBP agents and officers took their own lives this year — the highest on record aside from the 14 lost in 2009.

If you or someone you know needs help, resources or someone to talk to, you can find it at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website or by calling 1-800-273-8255. People are available to talk to 24×7.

NewsNation affiliate Border Report contributed to this report.

(NewsNation) — The desire for political power explains just about everything in America.

It’s official now that fentanyl kills more, many more, young Americans than guns, according to CDC estimates. The numbers are indisputable. But you wouldn’t know that by watching network TV or reading America’s biggest newspapers.

The reason for that is simple. Dealing with fentanyl deaths gives power to Republican ideas,while focusing on gun deaths gives power to Democratic ideas.

First, the numbers for deaths among Americans ages 18 to 49. There were 79,000 fentanyl deaths in 2020 and 2021 combined. Compare that to the 58,000 gun deaths in 2020 and 2021. And yet, you don’t hear about fentanyl.

Sure, you know what’s happening, but nobody in Washington or the newsrooms of the major TV networks, seem to care when it does. I’ll give credit where credit is due to the Washington Post, which pointed it out in their article: “Cause of death: Washington faltered as fentanyl gripped America.” It’s a compelling story, complete with pictures of police overwhelmed by emotion associated with the sheer numbers of death. It’s actually not much different when you look at those pictures of police overwhelmed at school shootings.

But the Washington Post story is really only half a story. Washington faltered. We know that, but why? They point to a failure of the Drug Enforecement Administration. Consider another reason: Going after fentanyl is politically inconvenient. Neither side gains political power from it. Compare that to going after guns, which Democratic politicians love to do. The White House even turns over the podium in the press briefing room to Matthew McConaughey to go after guns.

Who was the last politician you saw or heard furious about fentanyl deaths? When was the last time you saw a politician furious about fentanyl deaths who the national media covered being furious about fentanyl deaths?

On the other hand, talk about gun deaths and school shootings: Well, that allows reporters and politicians to link Republicans and dead kids. They can focus on the Supreme Court and people who don’t believe in the Second Amendment. Or they can focus on crazies in Congress who don’t believe in quote unquote common sense gun control.

They don’t have to talk about gangs or Democratic prosecutors letting the worst of the worst back out on the streets, nor do they have to talk about drug cartels. It’s all about mass shooters and evil and Republicans who they can blame. But for them, but for the evil Republicans and the mass shooters, AR-15s would be gone and we would all be safe. Just get rid of the AR-15s and gun violence goes away. It’s a very clear political argument.

Consider this tweet from the New York Times: The AR-15 has become a talisman for some right-wing politicians and voters. “That’s a particularly disturbing trend at a time when violent political rhetoric and actual political violence in the United States are rising,” writes the editorial board.

The photo that they attached is particularly telling: Those are shotgun shells, not rounds from an AR-15. Nobody at The New York Times could tell the difference between shotgun shells and the rifle rounds from the killing machines that they so hate, but think simply abolishing them will solve all of our problems. It is very hard to argue expertise when you don’t know the difference between shotgun rounds and rifle rounds.

That’s how you know it’s political. It never was about saving lives. We know that because now we talk about the leading cause of death for young Americans: Fentanyl.

Fentanyl brings up all sorts of uncomfortable conversations and questions, the plight of rural America and Appalachia. Up until recently, the opioid crisis hit rural America and poor white Americans particularly hard, and helping them doesn’t do much for either party.

The New York Times doesn’t have a West Virginia or rural Ohio or Northern Kentucky bureau. Nobody makes fentanyl in the United States and almost exclusively comes across a porous southern border. That is a very uncomfortable conversation for many politicians. So is talking about an overwhelmed DEA. So is talking about gangs who play the game with lax, big city prosecutors, so they’re dealers and pushers and gunmen Get Out of Jail quick. I could go on, of course.

But the answer to fentanyl and opioids require politicians and journalists to confront uncomfortable truths. The alleged answers to mass shootings and guns gives them political power. Their focus on guns tells you everything you need to know. It’s not about saving lives. It’s about power.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author, and not of NewsNation.

A new Python backdoor is targeting VMware ESXi servers, allowing attackers to take over compromised systems.

Juniper Networks researchers spotted a previously undocumented Python backdoor targeting VMware ESXi servers. The researchers discovered the backdoor in October 2022, experts pointed out the implant is notable for its simplicity, persistence and capabilities.

The experts were not able to determine the initial compromise due to limited log retention on the compromised server, they speculate attackers may have exploited known issues (i.e. CVE-2019-5544 and CVE-2020-3992) in ESXi’s OpenSLP service.

The backdoor maintain persistence by modifying some systems files such as /etc/rc.local.d/local.sh , which is executed at startup.

The following line of code launches a Python script that starts a web server. The webserver accepts password-protected POST requests from the attackers, each request can include a base-64 encoded command payload or launch a reverse shell on the host.

“While the Python script used in this attack is cross-platform and can be used with little or no modification on Linux or other UNIX-like systems, there are several indications that this attack was designed specifically to target ESXi.” reads the analysis published by Juniper. “The name of the file and its location, /store/packages/vmtools.py, was chosen to raise little suspicion on a virtualization host.”

Below is the list of files installed or modified in this attack:

• /etc/rc.local.d/local.sh: stored in RAM, but changes are backed up and restored on reboot
• /bin/hostd-probe.sh: changes are stored in RAM and reapplied after a reboot
• /store/packages/vmtools.py: saved to the persistent disk stores used for VM disk images, logs, etc.
• /etc/vmware/rhttpproxy/endpoints.conf: changes are stored in RAM and reapplied after a reboot

In order to allow access by remote attackers, they changed the configuration of the ESXi reverse HTTP proxy. The mappings from pathnames to network ports are stored in the configuration file, /etc/vmware/rhttpproxy/endpoints.conf.

The changes to the above file are persistent because it is one of the system files that are backed up and restored automatically at the reboot.

In order to determine if your installation was compromised the researchers recommend review the vmtools.py and local.sh files.

“The hashed password in vmtools.py has been redacted because it might uniquely identify the compromised server, so that file’s hash should not be used as an IOC. The modifications to hostd-probe.sh and endpoints.conf are shown in their entirety above.” concludes the report.

Experts also recommend applying all vendor patches as soon as possible, restricting incoming network connections to trusted hosts.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, vmware)

The post Experts detailed a previously undetected VMware ESXi backdoor appeared first on Security Affairs.

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The post Patriot systems could appear in Ukraine at “next stage” of war appeared first on Ukraine Intelligence.

A Reuters investigation published on Monday revealed that the Nigerian military and allied security forces have slaughtered thousands of children during their gruelling 13-year war against Islamist extremists in the country’s northeast.

Nigerian military leaders have said the army never targeted children for killing.

Here are some reactions to the report:

“It is a matter of immense concern, and we will be raising all the issues … through our High Commissioner in Abuja.”

“We are deeply troubled by the allegations in this report. We are pursuing further information, including from the Government of Nigeria and stakeholders working in this space.

“We are still reviewing the report and will make decisions about next steps thereafter.

“Our Embassy in Abuja is seeking additional information, including by speaking to Nigerian authorities.”

“Amnesty International is calling on Nigerian authorities to immediately investigate findings of the Reuters news agency report which shows that Nigerian military killed children — regardless of age — in the fight against Boko Haram.

“Latest investigation by Reuters is a wake-up call for Nigerian military to end impunity and ensure the prosecution of those who (have) overseen the widespread torture of people, including children in the northeast.”

Russia and Ukraine pounded each other’s forces in heavy fighting in the eastern region of Donetsk on Tuesday as Kyiv’s allies meeting in Paris pledged just over 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) to help Ukrainians survive the freezing winter.

Russian forces are battling to take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, two of four territories the Kremlin claims to have annexed in votes rejected by most countries as illegal.

Moscow is also attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with waves of missile and drone strikes, at times cutting off electricity for millions of civilians enduring Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.

“They’re shelling really hard, there’s shelling, especially at night,” Valentyna, 70, told Reuters as she fled the Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut, which Moscow seeks to capture but which is now largely in ruins because of incessant bombardment.

Valentyna, who declined to give her surname, spoke in a van driving to the relative safety of Ukrainian-controlled Pokrovsk.

“The house would shake and every minute, second you expect it could crumble around you and that’d be it. I couldn’t even sleep in the last week, so I decided to leave,” she added.

Air raid sirens wailed across the country on Tuesday afternoon, but there were no immediate reports of new attacks.

In Paris, about 70 countries and institutions pledged payments of just over 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) to help maintain Ukraine’s water, food, energy, health and transport, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said.

Zelenskiy had said Ukraine needed at least 800 million euros ($840 million). “It’s a lot, but the price is less than the cost of blackout,” Zelenskiy told the meeting via video link.

As he arrived at the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron said there was an agreement on removing heavy weapons from Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and that talks were under way on the way to do this.

Denis Pushilin, Russian-installed administrator of the portion of Donetsk controlled by Moscow, told Russian media that just over half of the Donetsk People’s Republic had been “liberated”. The self-styled republic is a breakaway Russian-backed entity that has been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the report.

Fierce fighting in the region in recent weeks has left unclear which parts of Donetsk are under Russian and Ukrainian control.

Three civilians were killed in the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours, regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on his Telegram channel, while in the southern Kherson region, regional governor Yaroslav Yanushevych reported three people were killed and 15 wounded in Russian artillery attacks.

Russian troops shelled the part of the Kherson region under Ukrainian control 57 times, he said.

Russia’s sustained shelling of the frontline in Donetsk has destroyed the city of Bakhmut and heavily damaged the city of Avdiivka, which lies in the region’s centre, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.

On Monday, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russia kept concentrating its efforts to advance and capture both cities.

Reuters could not independently verify the latest battlefield accounts.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, launched a snap inspection of its troops’ combat readiness after an order from President Alexander Lukashenko, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

It was the latest in a flurry of military actions that have raised fears Russia may mount an attack on Ukraine from Belarusian territory in coming months.

The Group of Seven on Monday promised to “meet Ukraine’s urgent requirements” after Zelenskiy appealed for modern tanks, artillery and long-range weapons. Zelenskiy also urged G7 leaders at a virtual meeting to support his idea of convening a special Global Peace Summit.

Russia on Tuesday dismissed a peace proposal from Zelenskiy that would involve a pullout of Russian troops and demanded Kyiv accept new territorial “realities” which included Russia’s addition of four Ukrainian regions as its “new subjects”.

“Without taking these new realities into account, no kind of progress is possible,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding there could be “no question” of Russia starting to withdraw troops by the end of the year.

U.S. President Joe Biden told Zelenskiy on Sunday that Washington’s priority was to boost Ukraine’s air defences. The United States also shipped the first batch of power equipment to Ukraine under an aid package agreed last month.

Moscow denies deliberately attacking civilians, but the war has displaced millions and killed thousands of non-combatants.

There are no peace talks under way to end the conflict, which Moscow describes as a “special military operation” against security threats posed by its neighbour. Ukraine and its Western allies call it an unprovoked, imperialist land grab.

Britain on Tuesday sanctioned 12 Russian military commanders implicated in missile strikes on Ukrainian cities as well as Iranian businessmen involved in the production and supply of military drones used in the attacks.

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U.S consumer prices barely rose in November amid declines in the cost of gasoline and used cars, leading to the smallest annual increase in inflation in nearly a year, which could give the Federal Reserve cover to start scaling back the size of its interest rate increases on Wednesday.

The consumer price index increased 0.1% last month after advancing 0.4% in October, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI gaining 0.3%.

In the 12 months through November, the CPI climbed 7.1%. That was the smallest advance since December 2021, and followed a 7.7% rise in October. The annual CPI peaked at 9.1% in June, which was the biggest increase since November 1981.

Annual inflation is slowing in part as last year’s big increases drop out of the calculation. The Fed’s aggressive monetary policy stance is also dampening demand.

The report was published as officials at the U.S. central bank gathered for their final two-day policy meeting of the year. The Fed – in the midst of the fastest rate-hiking cycle since the 1980s – is expected to lift rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday, snapping a string of four straight 75-basis-point increases.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last month that the central bank could scale back the pace of its interest rate hikes “as soon as December.”

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI increased 0.2% last month after rising 0.3% in October. In the 12 months through November, the so-called core CPI advanced 6.0% after increasing 6.3% in October.

Despite declining core goods prices, driven by falling prices for used motor vehicles as well as businesses discounting merchandise to lure cash-strapped holiday shoppers and clear inventory amid slowing demand and improved supply chains, sticky rents are keeping overall core inflation elevated.

Pressure is also coming from services, reflecting higher wages as the labor market remains tight.

Though independent rent measures suggest rental inflation is moderating, that is not expected to show in the CPI data until sometime next year. The still-high core inflation readings have left economists anticipating that the Fed will continue to tighten monetary policy for a while even as it slows the pace of rate increases on Wednesday.

Economists expect the Fed to lift its policy rate to a level higher than the recently projected 4.6%, where it could stay for some time. They expect the central bank to raise its estimate for the so-called terminal rate on Wednesday.

The Fed has raised the policy rate by 375 basis points this year from near zero to a 3.75%-4.00% range.