INTERNACIONAL
Rubio reveals obscure Biden administration office kept ‘disinformation’ dossier on Trump official
Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed in a Cabinet meeting that the Biden administration’s State Department kept dossiers on Americans accused of serving as «vectors of disinformation,» including a file on an unidentified Trump administration official.
«We had an office in the Department of State whose job it was to censor Americans,» Rubio said during Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting with Donald Trump. «And, by the way, I’m not going to say who it is. I’ll leave it up to them. There’s at least one person at this table today who had a dossier in that building of social media posts to identify them as purveyors of disinformation. We have these dossiers. We are going to be turning those over to these individuals.»
Vice President JD Vance interjected, asking, «Was it me or Elon? We can follow up when the media is gone,» and drawing laughter from the Cabinet.
«But just think about that. The Department of State of the United States had set up an office to monitor the social media posts and commentary of American citizens, to identify them as vectors of disinformation,» Rubio continued. «When we know that the best way to combat disinformation is freedom of speech and transparency.
RUBIO OVERHAULING ‘BLOATED’ STATE DEPARTMENT IN SWEEPING REFORM
Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed in a cabinet meeting that the Biden administration’s State Department kept dossiers on Americans accused of serving as «vectors of disinformation.» (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images )
«We’re not going to have an office that does that.»
RUBIO ANNOUNCES CLOSURE OF STATE DEPARTMENT EFFORT THAT ‘WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD ALREADY’
Rubio appeared to be referring to an office within the State Department previously known as the Global Engagement Center, which he officially shuttered earlier in April.
Former President Barack Obama established the small Global Engagement Center office in 2016 through an executive order aimed at coordinating counterterrorism messaging to foreign nations. (Getty Images)
When announcing a massive reorganization of the State Department, the Global Engagement Center engaged with media outlets and platforms to censor speech it disagreed with, Rubio said. The center has been accused by conservatives of censoring them.
Journalist Matt Taibbi, for example, previously reported that the center «funded a secret list of subcontractors and helped pioneer an insidious — and idiotic — new form of blacklisting» during the pandemic, Fox Digital reported in 2024.
He added that the Global Engagement Center «flagged accounts as ‘Russian personas and proxies’ based on criteria like, ‘Describing the Coronavirus as an engineered bioweapon,’ blaming ‘research conducted at the Wuhan institute,’ and ‘attributing the appearance of the virus to the CIA.’»
TWITTER BOSS ELON MUSK ACCUSES GOVERNMENT AGENCY OF BEING ‘WORST OFFENDER IN US GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP’
Though Rubio did not identify which Trump official the Biden administration kept a dossier on, Elon Musk has previously railed against the Global Engagement Center.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not identify which Trump official the Biden administration kept a dossier on, but Elon Musk previously railed against the Global Engagement Center. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
«The worst offender in US government censorship & media manipulation is an obscure agency called GEC,» Musk posted to X in January 2023. That was more than a year before Musk endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential race and became a fixture of the administration in his temporary role with the Department of Government Efficiency.
«They are a threat to our democracy,» Musk added.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional details on which Trump official was targeted but did not immediately receive a reply.
WHITE HOUSE PROPOSAL AXES UN, NATO FUNDS AND HALVES STATE DEPARTMENT BUDGET
Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk railed against the Global Engagement Center in 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Former President Barack Obama established the small office in 2016 through an executive order aimed at coordinating counterterrorism messaging to foreign nations before it expanded its scope to also include countering foreign propaganda and disinformation, State Department documents show.
In 2024, lawmakers did not approve new funding for the office in the National Defense Authorization Act, and it was scheduled to terminate Dec. 23, 2024. The Biden administration, however, shuffled staffers and rebranded the office. It became the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub in the waning days before Trump’s inauguration, the New York Post reported in January.
«I am announcing the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC),» Rubio said in an April 16 statement announcing the office’s closure.
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«Under the previous administration, this office, which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year, spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,» he wrote. «This is antithetical to the very principles we should be upholding and inconceivable it was taking place in America. That ends today.»
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Marco Rubio,State Department,Terrorism,Joe Biden,Elon Musk,JD Vance
INTERNACIONAL
Marchas en todo el mundo por el Día del Trabajador, entre el miedo y la furia por la guerra comercial de Donald Trump
Preocupación por los aranceles de Donald Trump
Reclamos de derechos laborales y fin de la guerra comercial, en la marcha por el Día del Trabajador en Vigo, España. Foto: EFE
La marcha por el Día del Trabajador en Amsterdam, Países Bajos. Foto: EFE
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, is looking for support from fellow Democrats with her eyes on a possible run for the top Democratic spot on the House Oversight Committee, according to reports.
Although Semafor first reported about Crockett’s plans, Politico also reported that two people familiar with the matter claim the congresswoman has been making calls, sending text messages and having conversations on the floor in search of support for her quest to take the seat held by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.
Connolly is reportedly planning to step aside as he fights a resurgence of esophageal cancer, though he has not made an official announcement, Politico reported.
Still, Crockett reportedly told her colleagues she is «made for the moment,» the sources told the publication, referring to the Democratic Party’s desire to resist President Donald Trump in a more forceful way.
JASMINE CROCKETT ROASTED FOR WORRYING ABOUT EFFECT OF DEPORTATION ON OTHER COUNTRIES
Rep. Jasmine Crockett during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight meeting (Screenshot/House Judiciary GOP)
Crockett did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Politico reported that Crockett told the outlet in a text message that even though a vacancy does not currently exist, «knowing that Rep Connolly doesn’t plan to seek re-election & knowing that our oversight powers are broad, I’m ready to shine a light on the very dark things taking place in our country under this administration.»
Crockett, a first-term progressive, has made headlines for several controversial comments this year.
SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS OVER JASMINE CROCKETT ‘GASLIGHTING’ ABOUT CALLING ABBOTT ‘GOVERNOR HOT WHEELS’
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, speaks during the «We Choose To Fight: Nobody Elected Elon» rally at the U.S. Treasury Feb. 4, in Washington, D.C. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn)
Her most recent comments came this week as she expressed sympathy for countries that may be affected by mass deportations from the U.S. after remaining largely silent on millions of migrants pouring into the country under the Biden administration.
«As far as I’m concerned, you randomly kidnapping folk and you throwing them out of the country against their civil rights, against their constitutional rights,» Crockett said in a video posted to her Instagram page, which has 1.3 million followers.
«And, frankly, how would they feel if some other country decided that they were gonna just start throwing people randomly in our country? Like that is absolutely insane.»
Crockett lambasted Republicans who had voted down an amendment to a massive budget bill being hammered out by lawmakers that aims to clarify that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot detain or deport U.S. citizens under any circumstances.
REP. JASMINE CROCKETT SAYS DEMOCRATS NEED TO BE ‘OK WITH PUNCHING’ IN RACES AGAINST TED CRUZ, REPUBLICANS
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, speaks during a Subcommittee on Delivering On Government Efficiency hearing Feb. 26 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The Republicans’ actions incensed Crockett, who cited a case last week when a U.S. citizen child was deported with her noncitizen mother. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the child and her siblings were deported because their mothers are not citizens and wanted to take them with them back to Honduras.
Crockett made the comments alongside Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who also panned Republicans.
«Literally they just voted, they being the other ones, not us, because we were all on the right side of history,» Crockett said. «They just voted to give Trump the legal ability to deport U.S. citizens. That is what they voted for. A bunch of elected U.S. representatives, that is how they voted, Am I telling a lie Eric or not?»
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She also made news in March after she called her fellow Texan, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, «Governor Hot Wheels.» She later claimed her words were misunderstood.
Crockett continues her viral media streak with incendiary comments aimed at those on the other side of the aisle, including saying DOGE head Elon Musk should be «taken down» and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, should be «knocked over the head, like, hard.»
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan, Rachel del Guidice, Elizabeth Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Politics,House Of Representatives,Congress,Texas,Washington DC
INTERNACIONAL
Volodimir Zelensky defendió el acuerdo sobre minerales “realmente justo” que firmó con Estados Unidos para la reconstrucción de Ucrania
El presidente ucraniano Volodimir Zelensky afirmó este jueves que el acuerdo sobre minerales firmado con Estados Unidos ofrecerá beneficios justos para ambas partes, a pesar de quedarse corto en cuanto a las garantías de seguridad explícitas que Kiev había pedido.
Estados Unidos y Ucrania firmaron el miércoles en Washington un acuerdo que establece un fondo de inversión para la reconstrucción del país devastado por la guerra y otorga a la administración del presidente Donald Trump acceso a los recursos minerales ucranianos.
El presidente Trump describió inicialmente el acuerdo como una “devolución de dinero” por la ayuda que Estados Unidos ofreció a Ucrania bajo el gobierno de su predecesor Joe Biden, pero Kiev dice que el nuevo acuerdo no está vinculado a ninguna “deuda” pasada en estos años de guerra.
“El acuerdo ha cambiado significativamente” durante las negociaciones, dijo Zelensky en su mensaje que realiza a diario. “Ahora es un acuerdo realmente justo que crea importantes oportunidades de inversión en Ucrania”, agregó.
Zelensky enfatizó en su mensaje: “No hay deuda en el acuerdo, y se creará un fondo -un fondo de recuperación- para invertir en Ucrania y generar ganancias aquí”, añadió.
Kiev y Washington tenían previsto firmar el acuerdo hace semanas pero surgieron tensiones marcadas por un enfrentamiento verbal entre Donald Trump y Volodimir Zelensky en el Despacho Oval de la Casa Blanca, a finales de febrero, que hizo descarrilar temporalmente las conversaciones.
Zelensky también resaltó que el acuerdo es “el primer resultado tangible” del “histórico” encuentro que mantuvo el pasado sábado con Trump en el Vaticano, coincidiendo con el funeral del papa Francisco. “Aprovechamos al máximo cada minuto”, enfatizó el ucraniano, y señaló que espera ahora que puedan surgir “otros resultados” derivados de esa charla mantenida con el estadounidense.
Ucrania espera que el acuerdo allane el camino para obtener garantías de seguridad de Washington, en su intento de protegerse de futuros ataques rusos tras la invasión de Moscú, que ya cumplió tres años.
El acuerdo aún debe ser ratificado por el Parlamento ucraniano.
Según los términos del acuerdo anunciado el miércoles, Ucrania y Estados Unidos crearán un Fondo de Inversión para la Reconstrucción conjunto.
Los beneficios del acuerdo se invertirán exclusivamente en Ucrania durante los 10 primeros años, tras los cuales “podrán distribuirse entre los socios”, según declaró Kiev.
El nuevo acuerdo no impone ningún compromiso específico de seguridad a Estados Unidos, pero Washington argumenta que impulsar sus intereses comerciales en Ucrania ayudará a disuadir a Rusia de un ataque.
Moscú ha mantenido sus ataques contra Ucrania, pese a los esfuerzos de Trump por mediar en un alto al fuego.
Un bombardeo nocturno de un dron ruso sobre la ciudad portuaria ucraniana de Odesa mató a dos personas e hirió a más de una docena, según las autoridades.
“Necesitamos más presión sobre Rusia (…) para obligarla a negociar. Cuanto más efectivas sean las sanciones, más incentivos tendrá Rusia para poner fin a la guerra”, dijo Zelensky en Telegram tras el ataque.
Rusia rechazó en marzo una tregua de 30 días propuesta por Estados Unidos y Ucrania, y exigió el cese de la ayuda militar occidental a Kiev.
Estados Unidos advirtió que esta semana sería clave para determinar si seguiría intentando mediar para poner fin a la guerra de tres años o se retiraría.
El lunes, el presidente ruso Vladimir Putin declaró por sorpresa una tregua de tres días, del 8 al 10 de mayo, coincidiendo con las celebraciones a gran escala en Moscú del Día de la Victoria de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Según diversas estimaciones, Ucrania concentra aproximadamente 5% de los recursos minerales del mundo, aunque no todos están explotados o son fácilmente explotables. Otros se encuentran en territorios ocupados por Moscú o amenazados por el avance de las fuerzas rusas.
(Con información de AFP y EP)
—,diplomacy,heads of state,politics,war
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