Philip Giraldi

PHIL. GIRALDI—And finally, for a bit of what just might turn out to be good news! The reports of the misfortunes of the world’s largest warship, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford, have been circulating for the past couple of weeks, starting with malfunction of the ship’s toilets, requiring repairs and maintenance. According to one report, it may have been due to deliberate clogging of the ship’s plumbing by crew members flushing and otherwise jamming clothing and other “indigestible” items into the pipes. There has also been a large 30-hour fire reported in the ship laundry room which has required returning to Crete for major repairs. The Ford has now left the operational area linked to Iran.

PHIL GIRALDI—The military assault on the Presidential Palace in Caracas did not topple the regime in Venezuela, if that was the intention, and the country’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez quickly took charge of the existing government. Donald Trump, nevertheless and characteristically, proclaimed himself to be the president of the country and declared that the United States would “run” it while it is under reconstruction by the firm hand and boot of Uncle Sam. The “running” clearly is focused as a first task on developing and selling Venezuelan oil, though it was a bit of a shock when the first tranche of profit from the venture consisted of $500 million dollars which was conveniently banked in an “offshore” account in Qatar.

JUDGE NAP–The video features Judge Andrew Napolitano discussing ongoing negotiations between Hamas and Israeli representatives amid the Gaza conflict, with political commentary from guest Phil Geraldi. The talks, occurring in Cairo and involving figures such as Ron Durmer, Jared Kushner, and Steve Witkoff, are seen as largely performative due to deep mistrust, especially after Israel allegedly attempted to assassinate Hamas negotiators. Hamas maintains a precarious position, unwilling to disarm or release hostages without safeguards, as doing so would eliminate their leverage and protection. The U.S. administration under Donald Trump is heavily criticized for its unwavering support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is portrayed as manipulative and untrustworthy, even labeled a “total liar” by Geraldi. Netanyahu’s aggressive military policies and disregard for international ceasefires are discussed, alongside his framing of all Palestinians as terrorists and legitimate military targets, including civilians.

PHIL GIRALDI—The FBI is certainly interested in the theft of government computers. But it is also looking into the possibility that the Awans were using their ability to access and possibly exploit sensitive information stored in the House of Representatives’ computer network, as well as through Wasserman-Schultz’s iPad, which Imran had access to and connected to the Democratic National Committee server. As Imran Awan was also a dual-national, born in Pakistan, the possibility of espionage also had to be considered. The charge that Awan was actually arrested on, bank fraud, was an easy way to hold him, as that aspect of his activities was well documented. It allows the other more serious investigations to continue, so the argument that Imran Awan is only being held over a minor matter is not necessarily correct.

PHILIP GIRALDI—The participants in the Signal meeting are now scrambling to make their case that they did nothing wrong, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in particular is arguing that the discussion was not classified even though the issue related to sensitive intelligence regarding the United States plans for escalating a war against a country with which it was not technically at war. The deniers are certainly wrong in making that case, either that or they were incapable of understanding what was on the table.