George Bellows The Lone Tenement 1909
It takes forever because it’s so complex. and it’s the FBI probing the FBI. But they’re not sitting still. Not Trump either. https://twitter.com/TheStormRedux/status/2045880028181721583?s=20 https://twitter.com/MAGAVoice/status/2045810958048846076?s=20 https://twitter.com/Real_RobN/status/2045962900716884011?s=20 https://twitter.com/mcucolo57/status/2045962325866234117?s=20 https://twitter.com/TRUMP_ARMY_/status/2046175677360328853?s=20
https://twitter.com/robertdunlap947/status/2046186828462477568?s=20✍️ There’s Been Three Great Scandals In The 21st Century pic.twitter.com/36JVxtpMzS
— MaggieWise ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@maggiewise111) April 19, 2026
“It’s a pattern that Iran has long perfected: probe, push, and see how far the other side tolerates their actions. That approach worked until it didn’t after Epic Fury ..”
• Iran Pushes Too Far in Hormuz, and the U.S. Pushes Back (David Manney)
President Donald Trump authorized a direct response after an Iranian-flagged vessel moved into a restricted pattern of activity in the Strait of Hormuz.U.S. Navy forces intercepted and disabled the vessel after it failed to comply with repeated warnings. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth supported the operation, and the U.S. Central Command coordinated the response, stopping the vessel before it could continue its course through one of the world’s most contentious shipping lanes.It was the first interception since the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports began last week. Iran’s joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a ceasefire violation, the state broadcaster said.Read more …
With the U.S.-Iran standoff over the strait sharpening and the ceasefire expiring by Wednesday, it was not clear where President Donald Trump ’s earlier announcement on new talks with Iran now stood. He had said U.S. negotiators would head to Pakistan on Monday. The ship drew attention after it moved in a way that raised immediate concern among U.S. naval observers. The USS Spruance, an Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer, closed distance, issued warnings, and took action when the ship didn’t comply. Iran didn’t waste time pushing back. Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani accused the United States of violating international law and warned of a response.U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz pointed to Iran’s own behavior in the Straits of Hormuz, making clear that no single country controls that passage. Any attempt to treat it like private territory runs against established maritime law. That waterway accounts for the passage of roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil; it moves through that very narrow stretch between Iran and Oman. Until Operation Epic Fury, tankers passed through it daily, and as we’re finding out, disruptions send shockwaves through energy markets and shipping routes. The Strait of Hormuz isn’t some abstract geopolitical talking point; it’s a choke point that affects fuel prices, supply chains, and economic stability worldwide.
Iran has played games in that corridor before, where patrol boats crowded tankers, drones shadowed ships, and crews were pushed just far enough to test limits without crossing into open conflict. It’s a pattern that Iran has long perfected: probe, push, and see how far the other side tolerates their actions. That approach worked until it didn’t after Epic Fury. The U.S. response came fast and without hesitation: warnings went out, the ship didn’t adjust, and the U.S. Navy acted. That sequence shows a clear line that the United States isn’t guessing or reacting late; it’s setting expectations and enforcing them when challenged.
You’d figure that by now opponents of President Trump would’ve learned the lesson that he doesn’t leave room for misinterpretation when it comes to his America First belief, especially now in a region containing such an important strategic waterway. The United States has made it abundantly clear: the Strait of Hormuz stays open, traffic moves, and anybody trying to interfere finds out quickly where the boundary sits. That boundary claim goes even further than Iran’s routine posturing. Tehran doesn’t see the Strait of Hormuz as a neutral passage, arguing that the era of outside powers securing major waterways is over.
“Never.” That’s when a senior Iranian lawmaker says they’ll be ready to give up their control of the Strait of Hormuz. “It’s our inalienable right,” Ebrahim Azizi, a former commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), tells the BBC in Tehran. “Iran will decide the right of passage, including permissions for vessels to pass through the Strait.” And he says that’s about to become enshrined in law. “We are introducing a bill in parliament, based on article 110 of the constitution, which includes the environment, maritime safety and national security – and the armed forces will implement the law,” says this member of parliament who heads the Committee for National Security and Foreign Policy.
He said Iran and its allies now hold that responsibility. He didn’t leave much room for interpretation. In his view, control of key routes like Hormuz belongs to regional forces, not international agreements. Iran is left with a decision to make: either keep testing that boundary and risk more confrontation or pull back and avoid escalating a tense situation that already drew a firm response. Either way, the tone has shifted.The message isn’t confusing: The United States will protect critical routes and won’t sit back while Iran tries controlling them by pressure or intimidation.
“US Central Command (CENTCOM) has released a video showing a US warship firing at an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that was later seized by US Marines.”
• US Navy Fires At and Boards Iranian-flagged Cargo Ship (RT)
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has released a video showing a US warship firing at an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that was later seized by US Marines. According to CENTCOM, the guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted the M/V Touska in the Gulf of Oman as it attempted to breach the US naval blockade and reach the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas through the Strait of Hormuz. “After Touska’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room. Spruance disabled Touska’s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch Mk 45 gun into the engine room,” CENTCOM said, adding that a team from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the vessel.Read more …
The Touska was traveling from a Chinese chemical-storage port and was laden with cargo, the Washington Post reports, citing tracking data. The port is often used for transporting chemicals, including sodium perchlorate, a key precursor for producing solid rocket fuel, it added, noting that it is unclear what cargo the Touska was carrying. Later, CENTCOM also released a video of US forces boarding the disabled ship from a helicopter. Iranian officials denounced the blockade as illegal under international law, saying it violates the terms of a two-week ceasefire set to expire on Wednesday.The Iranian military has vowed to retaliate for the seizure of the vessel. Iran’s Tasnim news agency later reported that the Iranian military launched a drone at US ships. The US has not confirmed whether any of its vessels came under attack.
80% of Iran oil goes to China. Trump has weaponized that.
• Xi Urges Immediate Opening Of Hormuz Strait For First Time (ZH)
China’s President Xi Jinping on Monday demanded the uninterrupted passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, state news agency Xinhua reports. He urged the normalization of shipping traffic after about 50 days of disruption which obviously and significantly impacts Chinese oil imports. “Normal navigation through the Strait of Hormuz should be maintained, this is in the shared interests of regional countries and the international community,” Xi said, in the statement also carried by AFP. He called for an immediate, comprehensive ceasefire and insisted disputes be resolved through political and diplomatic means. He added that China will deepen strategic mutual trust with Saudi Arabia and expand practical cooperation.Read more …
South China Morning Post observes that it was “the first time the Chinese leader had called for the reopening of the strategically vital waterway, which has been repeatedly blockaded since US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.” China imported 5.86 million tons of crude oil from Saudi Arabia, down 10% from February, according to customs data released Monday. As for where things stand on the negotiations front, Iran hesitated over sending diplomats to Pakistan for a second round of peace talks after the US maintained a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and seized an Iranian vessel, after apparently firing on it, undermining prospects for a breakthrough to end the war. Initially it appeared to shut the door on second talks, however per Associated Press Monday morning:Iranian authorities have expressed willingness to send a delegation for a second round of talks in Islamabad this week, two Pakistani officials said Monday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, said there is cautious optimism that delegations from both Iran and the United States could travel to Islamabad. The US side would reportedly once again be headed up by Vice President JD Vance – who during the first round cut out early after a serious impasse was reached on the nuclear issue.
The tumultuous weekend events followed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi having posted on X on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open”. By Sunday morning, Bloomberg ship tracking data had showed tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was largely ground to a halt. Also, the prior 24 hours had seen multiple incidents of tankers making U-turns, and added to all this a senior Iranian official renewed threats to close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
According to a quick review of some other developments Monday morning and per emerging market data, China will import a record volume of US ethane this month as petrochemical producers switch feedstocks after the Middle East war disrupted critical supplies. Recall that by mid-March Trump was actually asking for China’s help to get the blocked Strait of Hormuz reopened…
And in the broader region, Singapore is securing additional liquefied natural gas from outside the Middle East as the conflict in Iran constrains regional supply, according to a government body. India authorized more Russian insurers to cover vessels calling at its ports and extended permits for others as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts energy shipments from the Persian Gulf. The International Energy Agency has meanwhile said that global power consumption rose 3% last year, driven in part by rapid demand growth from electric vehicles and data centers, according to the International Energy Agency.
“The world is very different from what the Iran regime thought. In 2025, U.S. crude oil production hit a new annual record of 13.6 million barrels per day, making the United States the world’s largest producer but also the biggest exporter..“
• From Leverage To Liability: Hormuz Is Now Iran’s Biggest Weakness (Lacalle)
For half a century, the Strait of Hormuz was Iran’s weapon. Today, it is its noose. The mathematics of energy have flipped, and with them the balance of coercive power in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s implicit deterrent was geographic, spanning from the tanker wars of the 1980s to the sanctions standoffs of the 2010s. Almost 20% of global seaborne oil, and a similar share of liquefied natural gas, passes through the Strait. The formula was simple: any military confrontation that threatened the Tehran regime risked a closure that would halt trade supplies, spike crude prices, bleed Western consumers, and, above all, inflict pain on the United States, who was the world’s largest oil importer.Read more …
The strait served as Tehran’s insurance policy and its most powerful bargaining tool. The threat was predicated on the regime’s belief that it could block everyone except its exports. The Iranian regime revealed its biggest weakness by constantly threatening to damage the global economy through a shutdown of the Strait. In reality, a total shutdown has the most severe impact on Iran. Almost 90 per cent of Iran’s crude exports, and about 80 per cent of its total exports, depend on the transit through Hormuz. Around 25 per cent of Iranian GDP and 60 per cent of government revenues depend completely on having the Strait open.Before the war, Iran was exporting roughly 1.7 million barrels per day, receiving around $160 million in daily revenue from exports via the Strait. Thus, Trump’s full closure of the Strait costs Tehran hundreds of millions of dollars a day in losses, not accounting for the additional fiscal and currency consequences in a country already facing an economic disaster with 40–50% inflation. The complete dependence on the Strait of Hormuz also adds to another weakness: 95% of Iranian crude at sea is sold to a single buyer, China. Tehran is not selling into a diversified and open market. Its exports are sold to a monopsony that demands large discounts, between 10 and 11 dollars per barrel.
These weaknesses were visible long before the war. Capital flight reached $15 billion in the first half of 2025 alone; the rial collapsed against the dollar, and the government’s budget, which allocates 51 per cent of oil revenues to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, became even more dependent on a single export route it could not afford to close. When the war began, Iranian crude shipments collapsed by 94%. Then, the United States’ decision to block all Iran export vessels showed that Iran’s chokepoint had become self-choking. In the past 30 days, 80% of the essential volumes that moved through the Strait have been rerouted or offset by other oil producers, including US record exports.
The world is very different from what the Iran regime thought. In 2025, U.S. crude oil production hit a new annual record of 13.6 million barrels per day, making the United States the world’s largest producer but also the biggest exporter. The United States shipped 5.2 million barrels per day of crude and 7.2 million barrels per day of petroleum products in March 2026, both global records. For the first time, America exported more petroleum than it imported, by a net margin of almost 2.8 million barrels per day, according to the EIA. Total US liquids production now exceeds that of Saudi Arabia and Russia combined.
On the natural gas side, U.S. LNG exports reached well over 15 billion cubic feet per day, surpassing Qatar and Australia to make the United States the world’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter, while U.S. dry gas production exceeds the combined output of Russia, Iran, and China. Furthermore, the United States is also the world’s largest producer of nuclear electricity, at roughly 30 per cent of global generation, and a global leader in renewable energy.
When President Trump could say in April 2026 that the United States was “clearing the Strait as a favour to countries around the world, including China, Japan, Korea, and Germany,” the framing was an accurate description of who needs Hormuz open and who does not. Only 4% of the traffic through the Strait goes to the United States, according to SP Global. According to the International Energy Agency, throughput at Hormuz collapsed from its long-run average of about 20 million barrels per day to 3.8 million since the beginning of the war through the second week of April. Daily ship transits fell roughly 95 per cent. The Tehran regime, in a gesture more theatrical than realistic, attempted to levy a $2 million toll on each vessel crossing the strait, without understanding that the move showed desperation instead of leverage.
The US response has been the most important measure deployed against Iran in two decades of standoffs. Operation Economic Fury established a full naval blockade of Iranian ports. Iranian naval losses in the first 38 days of combat exceeded 150 vessels. The ceasefire framework under negotiation requires Iran to reopen Hormuz, but the US maintains control. Thus, negotiations revolve around Iranian dismantlement, not American concessions.
The lesson is not just that Iran miscalculated but that it massively underestimated its obvious weaknesses. The United States is not a hostage of the Gulf; it is the guarantee of its safe sea lanes. Europe is tied to U.S. LNG while keeping a substantial Russian dependence, which complicates its energy security and makes it vulnerable to fluctuations in supply and price from both sources. Asia’s largest economies, particularly China, are suffering the marginal cost of a Hormuz disruption, which has led to increased energy prices and supply chain uncertainties that further exacerbate their economic challenges. Iran’s economic nightmare has only started.
Three important factors must be considered. First, the traditional Hormuz risk premium in Brent, which refers to the additional cost added to oil prices due to geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, is structurally smaller than in the 2010s because U.S. supply can absorb shocks that previously had no substitute. The Brent price is lower in real and nominal terms than in the 2008, 2018, or 2022 peaks. Second, the strength of American energy, including economics, export infrastructure, and LNG capacity, has become a key global geopolitical variable, influencing global energy prices and the strategic decisions of other nations.
Third, Iran’s economy has not only suffered damage; it has also been demolished, and its extremely weak fiscal position indicates that it cannot sustain the threat posture in Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz remains the world’s most important chokepoint. However, a chokepoint hurts whoever depends on it most, and Iran relies on it completely. The United States does not. The geopolitical advantage that Tehran once held has now become its greatest weakness, likely leading to the disappearance of the regime’s effective bargaining power.
“It is one thing for the people (of Iran) to be ruled by globally feared autocrats armed to the teeth, but quite another to be governed by humiliated, now impotent incompetents and buffoons.” —VDH
• Things Get Interesting-er (James Howard Kunstler)
Wednesday the US / Iran ceasefire expires. It has been an interesting two weeks. The US used it to negotiate an end to hostilities, resupply our ships in the Arabian Sea, do maintenance on our ships and warplanes, dismantle Iran’s banking conduits, and blockade Hormuz to shut down the regime’s remaining income flow. The Iranians used it to jump up and down and go woo-woo-woo. They also tried to dig out the entrances of their bombed caves and tunnels to unearth whatever’s left of their hidden missile launchers. Our satellites watched everything they did and mapped the coordinates.Read more …
Negotiations? So far, not fruitful, if termination of hostilities and surrender of Iran’s uranium is the goal. We’re not even sure the Iranians we’re negotiating with have any real authority to make a deal. Iran’s government at this point is a hash of conflicting factions: the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), which is a large Jihadi mafia that happens to own half of Iran’s economy and controls its advanced missile and drone weaponry; the regular Army (Artesh) which would theoretically defend against a ground invasion, but otherwise just stands by; and the civilian government represented by President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibef — none of whom seem to hold any real decision-making power.America’s negotiators, led by Veep Vance along with Messrs. Witkoff and Kushner, will land back in Islamabad, Pakistan, today (Monday, April 20). Our deal is still on the table. It’s pretty straightforward: the aforementioned uranium plus a twenty-year halt of nuclear activities with no path toward a weapon; full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz; an end to Iranian support for Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis; phased-out sanctions and access to frozen assets; and cessation of hostilities.
Events over the weekend argue that Iran is not finished playing stupid games and winning stupid prizes. They tried to run the Hormuz blockade on Sunday with an incoming cargo ship, the Iranian-flagged M/V Touska. The USS destroyer Spruance, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, blew a hole clean through its engine room and then seized the vessel. Its cargo remains undisclosed for now.
Iran claims that it has closed the Strait of Hormuz. The US said it was already closed via the US blockade (we closed it harder). Iran can’t surreptitiously move any oil out to sell to China or run supplies into the country. Iran will lose about $500-million a day and China will lose the majority of its oil imports. China will jump up and down and go woo-woo-woo over that, while the IRGC will lose its last remaining income stream, meaning no pay for anyone. Let’s see if that prompts an attitude change.
If Iran can’t move its oil, it will soon reach the limit of its oil storage capacity, meaning it will have to shut down its oil wells. If that happens, the hydrology is such that water invasion of the underground strata will permanently damage the oil fields. Iran is between a rock and a squishy place.
That might be enough to force a deal in the hours ahead. President Trump has made it clear that the time for Iran jerking-around the US is over. So then, it’s back to Power Station and Bridge Day (blowing them up). That would be extremely unfortunate for the ordinary Iranian people. They are unarmed and helpless to resist the maniacs of the IRGC who would allow Power Station and Bridge Day to happen, who, in effect, don’t really care about the ordinary people of Iran.
However, the regular Iranian army, the Artesh, does have weapons (they are the army and armies are generally armed). Perhaps they will use them to put the insane jihadi IRGC out of business. After all, the Artesh’s mission is defense on-the-ground of the Iranian homeland, and just now the biggest threat to Iran is the IRGC. I guess we’ll have to wait on that and watch..
All the (well, 6) articles that follow can be put under the same topic: TDS.
While Trump is hardly mentioned in them.
“Maria Bartiromo asked Patel if the FBI has evidence of election fraud in 2020.”
FBI director says arrests are coming related to 2016 Russia probe: ‘Never going to let this go’
• Kash Patel: Arrests Due In 2016 Russia Probe: Never Going To Let This Go (JTN)
FBI Director Kash Patel said on Sunday that “arrests” are coming related to the Russia investigation of potential collusion between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. “I am never going to let this go,” Patel said on “Mornings with Maria” on Fox News. “We’ve got all the evidence. I can announce on your show that we’ve got all the information we need. We’re working with our prosecutors at the Department of Justice under AG Todd Blanche, and we are going to be making arrests – and it’s coming and I promise, you, it’s coming soon,” he added.Read more …
Host Maria Bartiromo asked Patel if the FBI has evidence of election fraud in 2020. “So what we are doing is folding that into our entire conspiracy case,” Patel said. “But we have the information that backs President Trump’s claim (of the stolen election)…but I would say stay tuned this week. You might see a thing or two.” Patel also said he is going to sue The Atlantic on Monday.
He was addressing 2016, 2019 and 2020.
• Kash Patel Makes Promise: Arrests Are Coming Over 2020 Election (Margolis)
FBI Director Kash Patel dropped a bombshell Sunday morning that the legacy media will do everything to attack. Appearing on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Patel announced that arrests are coming over the coordinated effort to rig the 2020 election. “We are going to be making arrests, and it’s coming, and I promise you, it’s coming soon,” Patel said. That’s not a vague promise from a bureaucrat hedging his bets. That’s the sitting FBI director going on record, on camera, with a direct commitment to the American people that we’re finally going to see some accountability over the shenanigans that took place during the 2020 elections.Read more …
Bartiromo, for her part, wasn’t interested in vague assurances. In fact, she set the stage by noting what any honest observer already knows — President Donald Trump has been saying the 2020 election was rigged since, well, 2020. She pressed Patel directly on what he had actually done about it over the past 14 months. His answer was unambiguous. Patel reminded viewers that he wasn’t new to this fight. Long before he ran the FBI, he was in the trenches on the House Intelligence Committee alongside Trey Gowdy, John Ratcliffe, and Devin Nunes, exposing the FISA abuses that targeted Trump’s first presidential campaign. The media came after him then, too — something he clearly wears as a badge of honor.“That just shows you that when you’re over the target, you keep pummeling the target because the media’s gonna try and pummel you,” Patel said. He wasn’t done. Patel revealed that when he took over the FBI, what he found inside the building went beyond anything that had been publicly reported. Hidden rooms. Restricted and prohibited case files are buried deep in computer systems, deliberately placed where investigators wouldn’t find them. This is the kind of institutional concealment that doesn’t happen by accident. “I had to come in here and find rooms that they hid from the world,” he said. “I had to come in here and find access on our computer systems in restricted and prohibited case files that they purposely put in places for no one to see and find.”
Think about that for a moment. The FBI — the nation’s top law enforcement agency — had evidence stashed away in places designed to keep it from ever seeing daylight. But, sure, the 2020 election was entirely above board. Seriously, if that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about what the previous regime was up to, nothing will. Patel also confirmed that the FBI has already indicted former Director James Comey, and that the case is now working its way through the judicial process. But Sunday’s announcement made clear that Comey isn’t the end of the story — he may just be the beginning.
“I can announce on your show that we’ve got all the information we need,” Patel said. “We’re working with our prosecutors at Department of Justice and their Attorney General Todd Blanche.” He also offered some perspective on why this investigation has taken as long as it has. The corruption being dismantled wasn’t built overnight. “They built this disease temple over 20 and 30 years,” Patel said. Decades of entrenched rot don’t get cleaned up in a single news cycle. For years, conservatives have been told to wait—that accountability was just around the corner, that justice was coming. The promised reckoning never seemed to arrive. Patel is now staking his credibility on the claim that this time is different. He says arrests are coming. Faster, please. Faster.
What can I say? Watch. A decade of Trump abuse gets answers.
• Maria Bartiromo Questions FBI Director Kash Patel About Ongoing Issues (CTH)
FBI Director Kash Patel appears on Fox News Sunday to discuss ongoing FBI issues with Maria Bartiromo. Beginning with the issue of missing scientists, Kash Patel notes the FBI is “working with partners in various jurisdictions” to review each case and identify if something more nefarious is afoot. The questioning then shifts to an explosive accusation by The Atlantic about his drinking, partying and indulgences within his position. Patel notes he is going to sue the Atlantic for defamation. Maria Bartiromo also asks if Kash Patel has seen any evidence of the 2020 election fraud as outlined by President Trump for several years. Patel notes he cannot talk about ongoing investigations but hints that more information is likely to come out within the next few weeks.Read more ….
From my personal perspective, Kash Patel does like the indulgences that come with the office. However, I think the accusations against him are likely spurred by disgruntled FBI agents and DOJ officials with an axe to grind. That said, it still doesn’t appear that Director Patel has his arms around the agency he leads, and it is not uncommon to find people within the Trump administration who are frustrated with ongoing dubious activity carried out by remnant FBI officials who are not being brought to heel.
And as Kash Patel is moving into action, his targets are calling their press partners.
• The Atlantic’s Kash Patel Hit Piece Is Backfiring – Badly (Brad Slager)
Official word has already come out today: A lawsuit has been filed against the media outlet The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick. FBI Director Kash Patel has now filed the suit, delivering on his promise made over this weekend that he would do so in response to a hitpiece article published by the outlet on Friday, April 17.Read more …
In the article, Fitzpatrick alleged that Patel is frequently intoxicated on the job, has a horrific job performance, and that this has led to a morale problem throughout the Bureau. There has been word that this story was somewhat circulating around D.C., but that no outlet was willing to risk running such speculation. The Atlantic, however, was more than willing to do so, and as I will show in moments, this is in line with the character of that outlet.The talk over the weekend that this had been a passed-around story that few outlets would touch is hinted at by Fitzpatrick’s teaming up with Jonathan Lemire from MS NOW for the piece. They claim they based this reporting on speaking with some White House officials, and as Sarah explained, it is “according to the more than two dozen people I interviewed about Patel’s conduct.” Who these people are and what their positions entail for them to deliver empirical wisdom on these matters is a complete mystery, for, as we have become more than accustomed to, this is all relying on anonymous sourcing. This is just the beginning of the flaws in this hit piece. How is it you speak to 25 or more people, and not one of them has the stones to admit to their status?
Let us take a look at these people Fitzpatrick and Lemire relied upon for their reporting. Those White House contacts? A complete mystery, as they are nameless. So too are all of the officials at the FBI slamming Patel’s character. But more than these ciphers are cited. We are also hearing from former FBI figures, staffers from different agencies (hardly high-placed sourcing), as well as political operatives (about the least valid of the lot), lobbyists (excuse me, but what?!), and hospitality-service work. So…bartenders and waitresses are part of your sourcing?!
Meanwhile, it was more than Kash Patel objecting to this report. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shot down these claims and touted Patel’s accomplishments. Ben Williamson from the FBI official public affairs office, the assistant to that office, Erika Knight, Patel’s legal counsel, and the man who worked alongside Patel during his confirmation, Clint Brown, each disputed the claims made. The difference? All of those people are named because they were on the record, yet those people are all discounted because we see how Fitzpatrick and Lemire were on an agenda. Williamson alluded to the common practice we see from the press these days, which I describe in my Townhall media column as The Deadline Gambit.
This is the tactic of a full report on an individual being worked on for weeks, with multiple sources and deep background established, and then the main focus of the piece is given a brief window to “respond” to the report. Try to conjure the amount of time spent by Fitzpatrick to craft this report, from over two dozen sources, then look at Williamson saying they had just two hours to respond to all of that before publication. They sent off the letter to The Atlantic, warning of impending litigation if they went forward, and this appeared to at least generate some changes. At The Daily Beast, they felt they had another “gotcha” moment, revealing a lack of cerebral processing heft when they breathlessly reported:
“Kash Patel’s legal team has revealed more allegations were leveled against him than were published in a bombshell report by The Atlantic—and said what they were. That means that the letter, which came from a personal attorney for Patel rather than from the FBI’s own counsel, effectively put what it describes as false and defamatory statements into public circulation.”Allow me to help you folks out here. You see, after the lawyer contacted them with this letter, it is clear that Fitzpatrick, and/or her editors, pulled some items from the piece out of fear of further litigation. This was not a case of mistakenly exposing something; they were being transparent in showing the flawed reporting taking place.
The amusement is@S_Fitzpatrick postures like she did not receive pushback on her Patel hit-piece from the WhiteHouse: she printed Karoline Leavitt’s remarks.
— Lie-Able Sources (@LieAbleSources) April 20, 2026
Sarah was also given 100% denials from Patel, and his lawyer, despite just given a couple of hours to comment.
1/2Sarah Fitzpatrick appeared with Jenn Psaki on Sunday, and she displayed a high level of false bravado when asked about her article and the lawsuit that was threatened at the time. It is unclear how she can say the White House did not refute things when, in her piece, she quotes Karoline Leavitt responding to her questions. And again, there were the complete blanket denials from Patel and his lawyer. But there is more amusement: As she holds up the reputation of The Atlantic, let’s remember what this outlet is all about. This is the same outlet whose managing editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, put out the slanderous stories of President Trump calling fallen soldiers “suckers and losers.”
Goldberg was also the one who claimed Trump insulted a fallen female Marine and reneged on paying for funeral expenses, as her family completely called the story a lie. Yep, just a sterling publication, that. Better still is how Fitzpatrick touts the mastery of their lawyers, as there is a small detail needed to be overlooked. It was just last September when that outlet settled a $1 million defamation case with a former writer. This was a rather clear case of guilt, as Ruth Shalit-Barrett asked for that very sum in her filing. So, for those rubbing their hands in glee over what may be exposed in discovery, this is not exactly a news outlet with a rock-solid reputation.
Joseph diGenova is 81 years old. He’s a longtime Trump legal advisor floating to the top.
• DOJ Moves In Florida Signals Major Escalation In Russiagate Criminal Probe (ZH)
The Department of Justice appears to be gaining fresh momentum in its criminal investigation into the 2016 Trump-Russia collusion narrative, with a significant overhaul of the team handling the case in southern Florida.Read more …
According to investigative journalist Julie Kelly’s reporting at Declassified.live, longtime Trump legal advisor Joe diGenova – a former U.S. Attorney and prominent commentator – will be sworn in Monday as counsel to the attorney general. He will assume leadership of the ongoing grand jury probe based in Fort Pierce, the district overseen by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. That same courthouse was the site of Cannon’s landmark July 2024 ruling dismissing Special Counsel Jack Smith’s classified documents case against President Trump after she found Smith’s appointment unconstitutional. The grand jury has been active in Fort Pierce since January, Kelly reports.DiGenova’s wife, Victoria Toensing, has also served as a key Trump legal counselor for years. In a notable earlier move, the Biden Justice Department seized Toensing’s cellphone in April 2021 during a separate inquiry tied to Rudy Giuliani’s efforts to examine the Biden family’s overseas dealings.
But wait, there’s more…
The addition of DiGenova isn’t the only retooling. Earlier this week, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche removed the career prosecutor previously in charge of the investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan, who played a key role in concocting the Trump-Russia collusion scheme in 2016. According to CNN, assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Medetis Long was ousted “after she resisted pressure to quickly bring charges against the former CIA director and prominent critic of President Donald Trump.” Meditis Long notified lawyers representing several individuals who have received subpoenas or interview requests related to the investigation that she was off the case, the New York Times reported on Friday. -Declassified Live
Blanche has also sent one of his senior aides, Christopher-James DeLorenz – who clerked for Judge Cannon during the documents litigation – to the Fort Pierce team.
These changes come shortly after President Trump dismissed former Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month, citing dissatisfaction with the pace of the Russiagate accountability effort. In a pointed press conference days later, Blanche—whom Trump immediately named acting attorney general—made clear the department’s direction. “The president has said time and time again that he wants justice,” Blanche told reporters. “If you look at what happened to him, his family, his administration, the agents who protected him, people who just happened to walk by him on a given day, they got subjected to…massive investigations by this department.”
Blanche speaks from direct experience: he defended Trump in both the Florida documents case and the Manhattan hush-money prosecution brought by District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Earlier this year the Justice Department did secure indictments against a small number of figures tied to the lawfare campaign, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Those cases were later dismissed, however, after a judge ruled that the appointment of the acting U.S. Attorney who filed them, Lindsey Halligan, was improper. That decision is now under appeal in the Fourth Circuit.
Still, many Trump supporters are demanding deeper accountability. While the initial charges brought some satisfaction, the expectation is for more significant action. A potential indictment of Brennan – who many view as a top target – now looks increasingly likely. He was recently subpoenaed in connection with his 2023 congressional testimony, in which he denied that the discredited Steele dossier influenced his 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment alleging Russian election interference on Trump’s behalf.
Brennan’s legal team has reacted with alarm. In a highly unusual letter sent last December to the chief judge of the 11th Circuit, his attorneys urged the court to block the probe from proceeding in Fort Pierce—viewed as a more conservative venue than Miami—and to bar Judge Cannon from any involvement. The letter claimed that Cannon’s prior rulings created the appearance of favoritism toward Trump and accused prosecutors of deliberately steering the case to her courtroom in line with what they called the president’s political retribution agenda.
If diGenova’s role expands beyond Brennan to encompass a wider “grand conspiracy” review – potentially covering everything from the roots of Russiagate through January 6, the Mar-a-Lago raid, and the conduct of the now-disqualified special counsel – additional high-profile targets could come into focus. Among them are individuals already the subject of criminal referrals sitting with the DOJ, including Thomas Windom (referred by House Judiciary Chairman James Jordan for alleged obstruction during congressional depositions) and January 6 committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson, accused of fabricating testimony about an incident in the presidential vehicle. This week, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also referred two former officials—Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson and analyst Eric Ciaramella – for their roles in advancing the 2019 Ukraine-related impeachment allegations against Trump. Both men have documented connections to the original Russiagate players.
Even Jack Smith may not be fully in the clear. Recent reporting from CBS News indicates that Florida prosecutors are examining documents linked to Smith’s prior investigation of the president. Smith could additionally face scrutiny for allegedly continuing to hold himself out as special counsel in court filings long after Cannon disqualified him, raising questions of contempt and potential false statements to Congress.
As Julie Kelly observed in her Declassified.live piece, diGenova—still energetic and far from retirement age—may be exactly the experienced, no-nonsense figure needed to bring decisive momentum to the Florida investigation and deliver the accountability many have long awaited.
Sundance: “..diGenova sees the connective tissue -the actual characters- flowing from Spygate, through Russiagate, into the Mueller investigation, then into the impeachment effort and then into the Jack Smith operation. Seeing the big picture is the first step.”
• AAG Todd Blanche Moves diGenova and DeLorenz to South Florida Group (CTH)
A formal announcement is likely tomorrow; however, leading information now affirms Acting AG Todd Blanche is moving Joe DiGenova and Christopher-James DeLorenz into positions in South Florida to assist U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones in ongoing investigation of the Donald Trump targeting. The venue puts any grand jury information in the court orbit of Judge Aileen Cannon. Before getting into the substance, the alignment here is critical to understand. Judge Cannon saw firsthand exactly what the Lawfare constructs consist of when she had the Jack Smith operation in her court during the Mar-a-Lago documents case. Judge Cannon knows the context of weaponized justice and saw the techniques through first-hand experience. This cannot be emphasized enough.Read more …
There are a lot of people who want to see some form of accountability finally delivered for the decade-long corrupt Lawfare operation that took place against Donald Trump before he took office (Spygate), during his administration (Russiagate, Mueller, Impeachment), after he left office took office (Jack Smith and Mar-a-Lago) and even through today (Judicial Intervention). Many of those voices have concerns about 81-year-old Joe diGenova, so let me address that first by pointing out how the issues that frame the criticism are also a valuable asset.Joe diGenova has a very rare current perspective; he completely sees the timeline of Trump targeting for what it is. This is immensely valuable because not enough people understand the complex continuum enough to stand back and see the bigger picture. diGenova sees the bigger picture. diGenova can see the 2015/2016 FBI contractor political spying operation (Spygate) and how it connects to the later Fusion GPS/Clinton construct of Russiagate. More importantly, diGenova sees the connective tissue -the actual characters- flowing from Spygate, through Russiagate, into the Mueller investigation, then into the impeachment effort and then into the Jack Smith operation. Seeing the big picture is the first step.
Now, critics point out that diGenova is a creature of DC. Yes, that is true. However, that’s also an asset given that he understands just how difficult it is to navigate through all of these ridiculous DC interests. diGenova is also a character, boisterous perhaps intemperate and easy to Alinsky (isolate, ridicule, marginalize). So what? It doesn’t matter who is involved in this effort, they are going to be Alinsky’d by the Lawfare operatives on the other side.
Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing see the big picture and have a skillset to tell the story. They can assist brilliantly and direct the telling of the story by connecting the lead prosecutors to the background script of how everything unfolded over the past decade. If Quiñones is researching a “conspiracy” case, it is the primary job of the investigative researchers to connect each of the evidence dots to the larger conspiracy. Sounds perfect for diGenova.
diGenova can put the prior weaponization into a timeline and from that timeline extract the step-by-step evidence that proves it. This timeline of targeting and how it is all connected has been missing in every investigative review up to now. That’s the value of diGenova. This doesn’t mean diGenova is in the courtroom per se’, but rather he’s the one explaining the sequencing of witnesses for a grand jury and how the questioning of one might relate to the questioning of another. Christopher-James DeLorenz has the skillset of knowing Judge Aileen Cannon and the internal machinery of a modern Main Justice. Put them together and the lead prosecutor in Florida has a formidable team putting the details onto the table in front of him/her.
This could have been done in DC years ago by the House Select Subcommittee on Weaponization; however, they did not have the skillset nor the operational strength to push through the DC politics as a group. Former Representative Dan Bishop is a current U.S. Attorney in North Carolina, and he said it wasn’t fear that screwed up the subcommittee effort as it was republican political leadership stopping the subcommittee from aggressively investigating the whole matter, the big picture. There are rumors that Blanche has assigned diGenova because President Trump is frustrated with Main Justice on this issue. I don’t know if that is true, but jumping ju-ju-bones – could you blame Trump?
In full, they call this: “Trump’s 2019 Ukraine Impeachment”.
Something to think about. Remember Biden firing the prosecutor?
• 5 Stories Democrats Told During Trump’s 2019 Impeachment Have Crumbled (JTN)
Several Republicans, including the influential House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, are throwing their weight behind an effort to repudiate or expunge the 2019 House impeachment vote against President Donald Trump after years of belated bombshells eroded most of the scandalous narrative Democrats sold to America seven years ago.Read more …
The latest evidence to boomerang on the 2019 Democrat House impeachment managers came last week when Just the News successfully persuaded Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to release long-secret memos showing the intelligence community had raised red flags about the credibility and political motives of the CIA analyst who prompted the scandal with a tale that Trump had wrongly pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate the Biden family.Exculpatory evidence withheld from the congressional proceedings in 2019 and 2020: Back in 2019, it was taboo to question anything about the CIA analyst or even to mention his name, now confirmed to be retired CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella. But it turns out Democrats like then-Rep. Adam Schiff as well as the intelligence community’s chief watchdog at the time, Michael Atkinson, withheld from the public some bombshell revelations, according to the memos that Gabbard released last Sunday. Those memos showed Atkinson’s investigators had flagged the CIA analyst for having “potential for bias,” noted he had provided false information in his initial complaint, had apologized for the falsehood and held animus toward conservatives inside Trump’s circles.
Gabbard blasted Atkinson’s work, suggesting the former watchdog had “weaponized the whistleblower process” and used his office to “manufacture a conspiracy that was used as the basis to impeach President Trump.” She referred both Atkinson and Ciaramella to the Justice Department for possible criminal investigation. The fact that such relevant information was kept from Trump’s defense team to use at the impeachment proceedings touched of a firestorm, with famed law professor Alan Dershowitz becoming the first to suggest it was evidence enough to warrant expunging the 2019 impeachment vote. Soon, many Republicans rallied around the idea, including Jordan, Rep. Claudia Tenney and Trump himself.
But the illusion of an untouchable, unimpeachable star “whistleblower” isn’t the only tenet of the Democrat impeachment narrative to crack. Here are four other major parts of the story that Democrats wove together seven years ago that have fallen apart.
The Biden firing of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor
The scandal began in March 2019 when this reporter uncovered evidence in a series of columns in The Hill newspaper that revealed then-Vice President Joe Biden withheld $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees to Kyiv to force the firing in late 2015 of Ukraine Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who at the time just happened to be investigating Hunter Biden’s Ukrainian employer, the energy firm Burisma Holdings. Shortly after the story broke, Team Biden locked into an alternate story: Shokin wasn’t really investigating Burisma that much, and Joe Biden only took the action because career officials wanted Shokin out for his weak efforts to fight corruption and had recommended that the vice president withhold the loan guarantees.State Department officials like George Kent backed up the narrative in their impeachment testimony, Kent, for instance, answered “he did” when he was asked during his impeachment testimony whether Joe Biden acted consistent with U.S. policy when he used the loan guarantee as leverage to force Shokin’s firing. That story held for three years until Just the News sued to win documents showing a far different tale. State Department officials, including Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, had actually praised Shokin’s work fighting corruption, even sending him a letter of congratulations. You can read that here.
And contrary to what Biden claimed, a task force of State, Treasury and Justice Department officials had decided in fall 2015 that Ukraine and specifically Shokin had made adequate progress on anti-corruption reforms and deserved a new $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee. “Ukraine has made sufficient progress on its reform agenda to justify a third guarantee,” reads an Oct. 1, 2015, memo summarizing the recommendation of the Interagency Policy Committee (IPC) – a task force created to advise the Obama White House on whether Ukraine was cleaning up its endemic corruption and deserved more Western foreign aid.
“Some countries have embraced historical revanchism by seeking to revisit the Soviet victory over Nazism, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said..”
“They think… the Soviet victory in WWII was accidental and inadmissible. They think that now is the time to rectify this accident, or a mistake, as they see it..”
Russia watches how the west supports the nazis in Kiev.
• ‘Pandemic of Fascism’ Looming Over West – Moscow (RT)
The West is being swept by a “pandemic of historical revanchism” as it seeks to erase the memory of World War II and rewrite the Soviet victory over Nazi ideology, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has warned. Zakharova made the remarks in an interview with TASS on Sunday on the occasion of Russia’s Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People, which is being observed for the first time this year. The spokeswoman said that while for a time Russia was absolutely certain that WWII was “a sacred topic for the whole world,” many Western countries adopted a different approach.Read more …
“They think… the Soviet victory in WWII was accidental and inadmissible. They think that now is the time to rectify this accident, or a mistake, as they see it,” Zakharova stated. She noted that Moscow used to regard revanchism as “some kind of small germ that would sit in the corner and not go anywhere.” Zakharova, however, said that even “from a small germ can then grow a huge, terrifying pandemic of historical revanchism,” adding that a similar warning could be found in the landmark 1965 Soviet film ‘Ordinary Fascism’ by Mikhail Romm, which became a cautionary tale about the rise and fall of the Nazi ideology as well as of its numerous crimes.Some Western countries, Zakharova said, do not accept the results of WWII and the rulings of the Nuremberg Tribunal. “No, they do not want to give up the idea of taking over the Ukrainian black soil, Russian oil and gas,” she said, adding that Western ambitions extend to seizing the resources of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. She also cited an escalating war against monuments to those who fought Nazism, but said the most dangerous sign of revanchism was that “they want a revenge which would allow them to prevail in remaking the world order and seizing resources around the globe.”
Moscow has for years sounded the alarm about resurgent Nazi ideology in Europe, citing in particular marches in Baltic states honoring Waffen SS veterans. It has also pointed to torchlit marches celebrating the birthday of Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera, whose Ukrainian Insurgent Army collaborated with Nazi Germany and killed tens of thousands of Jews and Poles during WWII. Moscow has said Ukraine’s denazification is one of the key goals of its military operation against the neighboring state.
“Being investigated in France is “the new Legion d’honneur,” the Russian entrepreneur has said..”
• ‘Proud To Stand Alongside Elon Musk’ – Telegram’s Durov (RT)
France is weaponizing criminal prosecution in an attempt to suppress free speech, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has said, as he backed X owner Elon Musk in the social media platform’s legal case in the country. Durov made the remarks on Sunday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the US Department of Justice had rejected a French request for assistance in investigating X’s alleged role in distributing sexual deepfakes and unlawful data extraction. The DOJ letter stated that the French probe sought “to use the criminal legal system in France to regulate a public square for the free expression of ideas” and “to entangle the United States in a politically charged criminal proceeding.”Read more …
Musk has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the probe as a “political attack.” Durov rallied behind the X owner, arguing that under President Emmanuel Macron, “France is losing legitimacy as it weaponizes criminal investigations to suppress free speech and privacy.” He also disputed the independence of French prosecutors, saying they “are hired, fired, and promoted by the government.” He added that “the judicial police – who provide often misleading reports to investigative judges – are also controlled by the government.” ”Proud to stand alongside Elon Musk and others targeted by Macron’s campaign against digital rights. In Macron’s France, being investigated is the new Legion d’honneur.”The French investigation into X was first launched in January 2025, following allegations that the platform’s content algorithm showed bias and could constitute foreign interference. The case has since expanded to include scrutiny of anti-Semitic content, Holocaust denial, and AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Paris prosecutors raided X’s French offices in February 2026, and recently summoned Musk for a “voluntary” interview.
Durov – a citizen of France, Russia, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis – has himself clashed with the French judicial system. He was arrested at a Paris airport in August 2024 and indicted on 12 charges, including alleged complicity in distributing child exploitation material and drug trafficking, after French prosecutors cited Telegram’s near-total failure to respond to legal requests.Durov’s travel ban was fully lifted in November 2025, though the formal investigation continues. Durov has called the arrest and probe “legally and logically absurd” and said its “only outcome” had been “massive damage to France’s image as a free country.”
“If the American Republic is to survive another 250 years, it must preserve key rights that the EU has been systematically destroying in Europe ..”
• The EU Moves to Destroy the Last Vestiges of National Sovereignty (Turley)
The defeat of Viktor Orban in Hungary last weekend was celebrated by many who saw the former president as establishing single-party rule in his central European nation. The irony is that this claimed victory for democracy may fuel the establishment of a global governance system that is neither democratic nor accountable to citizens. The European Union was criticized by many for taking sides in the Hungarian election and for undermining Orban, who asserted national priorities in disputes with the EU. No sooner had Orban conceded defeat than a jubilant European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for the final coup de grace for national identity and sovereignty: the elimination of the ability of nations to stand against EU policies.Read more …
Orban was controversial for his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his lack of support for Ukraine. He was also accused of authoritarianism and corruption. I shared in some of those criticisms. However, the unintended consequence of this election could be the removal of a single autocrat in favor of a global bureaucracy. Van der Leyen helped elect the pro-EU Peter Magyar in order to remove a barrier to the EU’s ultimate exercise of power. The EU had been squeezing Hungary over its defiance by holding back billions in funds. Magyar is expected to be the perfect suppliant, willing to fall into line with the EU agenda.The EU Chief has reportedly already given Magyar a list of 27 demands he must meet before she will turn the spigot back on. She did not try to hide the agenda, announcing that the EU needed to “use the momentum now” to consolidate its power. With Hungary out of the way, Von der Leyen is calling for the EU to finally do away with the last vestige of national sovereignty: the veto exercised by its member states. Under the plan, member states would lose control of their policy and could be forced to adhere to the priorities and values of the EU majority. The EU Chief celebrated the new day of global governance in the making: “Moving to qualified majority voting in foreign policy is an important way to avoid systemic blockages, as we have seen in the past.”
In “Rage and the Republic,” I discuss the dangers posed to the American republic this century by the rise of global governance systems like the EU. The book explores how globalists planned to gradually get nations to yield their authority to the EU — destroying national identity and sovereignty in favor of an EU bureaucracy in Brussels.As the EU moves to kill off national sovereignty, EU commissioners are calling for a single European military command, completing a longstanding globalist goal. The 250th anniversary of our republic is occurring as we face an unprecedented EU threat. Our revolution was fought against a foreign empire.
It now faces an even greater threat from a global government asserting the right to compel American companies to censor Americans and comply with environmental, social and governance or ESG policies. At the same time, American figures such as Hillary Clinton are encouraging the EU to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights using the infamous Digital Services Act to restore speech controls to social media. Other Americans have testified before the EU, calling on it to fight the U.S. Banners are now flying in Europe declaring, “We are the Free World Now,” as the globalists attempt to supplant freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
If the American Republic is to survive another 250 years, it must preserve key rights that the EU has been systematically destroying in Europe — freedom of speech, division of powers and political accountability of decision-makers. That is why, I believe, the EU is inherently unstable and likely to ultimately collapse.
“.. 28 refineries – more than 25% of the number of refineries and 16% of refining capacity – have been either shut or transformed since 2009 ..”
• Europe Faces Summer Jet Fuel Crisis As Iran War Slashes Supply (Paraskova)
Europe faces an imminent jet fuel crisis as the Iran war and Hormuz disruption cut off key Middle Eastern supplies. Long-term refinery closures and rising import dependence have left Europe highly exposed, with limited alternatives and growing competition from Asia. Airlines are already cutting capacity and warning of higher fares, with potential flight cancellations looming as fuel shortages intensify. Accelerated refinery closures in the past decade and increased dependence on kerosene from the Middle East have exposed Europe’s energy supply vulnerability once again.Read more …
For years, European consumers have had to contend with last-minute strikes of ground personnel and cabin crew during peak summer travel. This year, strikes may be viewed as a minor nuisance compared to what’s coming within weeks—a jet fuel supply crisis that could ground flights and hike fares.The war in Iran has cut most of Europe’s imports of jet fuel, while local output has been falling for nearly two decades due to dozens of refineries closing permanently or being converted to biofuel production.The war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have severely constrained Europe’s jet fuel supply, while jet fuel prices have spiked to over $200 per barrel. The last imports from the Middle East on tankers that had passed Hormuz before the war began have arrived, and there is only one alternative to source jet fuel—from the United States. These supplies are not only insufficient to replace the loss of Middle Eastern jet fuel. Europe faces increasingly fierce competition from Asia for these cargoes as the crisis first hit Asia with crude supply from the Middle East collapsing, Asian refiners cutting refinery runs, and countries imposing fuel export restrictions to preserve domestic supply.
Back in 2009, nearly 100 refineries were operating in Europe. Of these, 28 refineries – more than 25% of the number of refineries and 16% of refining capacity – have been either shut or transformed since 2009, according to data from the European Fuel Manufacturers Association. As refineries were closing, due to declining fuel demand in Europe and emission-reduction policies, the European dependence on imported supply has grown. The hit to supply from the Middle East caught Europe off guard regarding the security of energy supply for the second time in just four years, after natural gas deliveries from Russia crashed in 2022. This time, the jet fuel crisis could be imminent, analysts and forecasters warn.
Last year, Europe imported about a third of the jet fuel it consumed, with 75% of imports coming from the Middle East, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said. Its executive director, Fatih Birol, this week warned that Europe has “maybe six weeks or so” of remaining jet fuel supply. “If we are not able to open the Strait of Hormuz … I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel,” Birol told Associated Press in an interview.
Northwest Europe is one of the regions most exposed to the jet fuel crisis, as imports have dropped from historical norms this month, and the import decline is set to accelerate in the coming weeks as more U.S. jet fuel cargoes would go to Asia instead of Europe, Ernest Censier, market analyst at Vortexa, said in an analysis on Thursday. The 15% drop in European jet fuel imports so far in April “reflects structural dependence on Middle Eastern supply: approximately half of NWE’s jet fuel imports typically transit through the Strait of Hormuz,” Censier said.
In addition, relatively short voyage times of about 21 days from Mina Abdulla in Kuwait to Rotterdam mean that supply disruptions are transmitted quickly into regional imports, the analyst added. The U.S. has emerged as the key source of substitution for lost Middle Eastern supply, but this is unlikely to be sustained as U.S. jet/kerosene exports are increasingly being redirected toward the Pacific Basin, reaching a seven-year high this month, and now accounting for over 30% of total U.S. jet fuel exports. “This reallocation reflects a broader shift in US product exports toward the Pacific Basin,” Vortexa’s Censier noted. This leaves Europe highly exposed to the turbulence in the jet fuel markets.
Larry Ellison just asked the one question no journalist on Earth can answer.
— Dustin (@r0ck3t23) April 19, 2026
A Wall Street Journal writer told Ellison to his face that Elon Musk doesn’t know what he’s doing.
Ellison didn’t argue. Didn’t get emotional. He just asked a question.
Ellison: “This guy is landing… pic.twitter.com/tNSDQ9tb7h
Jensen Huang just made the case for American empire. Said it plain. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t walk it back. And almost nobody caught what he actually admitted.
— Dustin (@r0ck3t23) April 20, 2026
Jensen Huang: “The amount of compute in the United States is a hundred times more than anywhere else in the world.”
One… pic.twitter.com/bMcuIrzX4i
Elon Musk just said something that should terrify people more than any doomsday prediction.
— Dustin (@r0ck3t23) April 19, 2026
Not that AI will make humanity poor.
That it will make us endlessly rich.
Musk: “It wouldn’t be Universal Basic Income, it would be Universal High Income.”
The entire AI debate has… pic.twitter.com/05AjXEzMGf
https://twitter.com/crsanchezx/status/2045930121391985025?s=20Elon Musk vient de franchir les 800 milliards de dollars de fortune personnelle.
— Jon De Lorraine (@jon_delorraine) April 19, 2026
Les journalistes européens ont fait ce qu'ils font toujours : chercher le scandale, l'inégalité, la provocation politique.
Personne n'a posé la question qui compte vraiment.
Pourquoi ce mec est-il… pic.twitter.com/lXw7iPw2PC
As a 41 year old real estate developer, Donald Trump was speaking up about how America was getting ripped off by the rest of the world.
— SHADOW INTEL (@shadowintel2) April 19, 2026
It’s crazy to hear him talk about everything he is currently fixing almost 40 years ago!
He has been talking about how to make America great… pic.twitter.com/PML3bK2MnU
Fun fact.
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) April 20, 2026
In its final stage, BYD new factory in Zhengzhou will cover 50 square miles, which is larger than San Francisco's surface at 46.9 square miles.
Watch its sheer size.pic.twitter.com/7wAIewEwPE
The CIA CLASSIFIED a 1950s study showing anti-parasitics disrupt cancer growth—and kept it BURIED for over HALF A CENTURY.
— Nicolas Hulscher, MPH (@NicHulscher) April 19, 2026
Millions of cancer victims have paid the price as this vital line of research was set back DECADES. https://t.co/mqHBHyN2NP pic.twitter.com/GFAf6LVNds
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