While the proverb first appeared in 1651, little editorial license has been taken with it over the centuries as its message remains just as accurate today. Of Italian origin, it states: “He that deceives me once, it’s his fault. He that deceives me twice, it’s my fault.” It is a proverb worth remembering due to a recent television ad promoting Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
The ad boasts that Harris has been endorsed in her bid by secretaries of defense and of the various military branches as well as other national security experts. These professionals assure us she is qualified to safeguard our nation’s national interests.
However, before accepting the ad’s assertions as worthy of voter consideration, we should remember we have already been burned once by dozens of national intelligence experts offering their professional opinions just prior to the 2020 presidential election on an issue of such extreme importance as to impact its outcome.
A letter, signed by 51 members of the intelligence community, suggested a laptop computer, abandoned at a repair shop containing damning information about corruption by the Joe Biden family, did not belong to first son Hunter Biden as the shop owner claimed but more likely was the product of a disinformation effort.
These experts reported the computer “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” Lacking any conclusive evidence, they claimed their national security experience made them “deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case,” adding, “If we are right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this.”
Eventually, the FBI verified the computer was Hunter’s, which he later admitted. Ironically, it was not “Russia trying to influence how Americans vote” but, rather, Biden’s intelligence supporters.
A poll taken after the 2020 election indicated that 79% believe covering up Hunter’s ownership of the computer did, in fact, change the election’s outcome. Thus, intelligence experts negatively influenced public opinion by making a call with no concrete evidence to support it.
Quite telling as well is the fact that, as the letter was released only a few days after the computer’s discovery was publicized, there was no time for any of them to even examine it and its contents. Thus, in all likelihood, their signatures were probably tendered for purely political rather than national security reasons.
New information released earlier this year indicates that CIA contractors and the Biden campaign colluded on this issue. Of major concern is that some of the contractors were still on the CIA payroll at the time.
Undoubtedly, these experts had no interest in promoting truth. Their sole interest was to ensure a Biden win and, hopefully, thereby be rewarded by a grateful president. Some of the signatories were so rewarded. Among them was the letter’s promoter, Antony Blinken, who went on to become secretary of state. Even after evidence emerged that it was Hunter’s laptop, not one of the 51 signers apologized for wrongfully misleading voters.
Thus, with the aforementioned pro-Harris television ad now in circulation, we must question the motivation of those national security experts supporting her. Sadly, we live in a time when our country’s best interests fail to receive priority. We seem to be cursed by a new breed of intelligence experts placing their own priorities over the country’s.
Biden tells us that every decision he has made, whether involving foreign or domestic policy, was embraced by Harris as well. Harris has boasted she was repeatedly the last person in the room to advise the president. In fact, when queried whether she would have done anything differently than Biden did, Harris proudly responded, “Not a thing.”
In that light, their decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was a complete disaster, with it now being reported Biden failed to listen to his military experts. That was a time for Harris – as the last person in the room – to tell Biden he needed to do so. She apparently did not, simply endorsing the president’s decision.
Similarly, the actions of the Biden-Harris administration in dealing with Iran have only enabled the mullahs to expand their role as a regional bully and to move closer to having a nuclear weapons capability.
In a recent “60 Minutes” interview, Harris demonstrated that she may have the same flaw as her boss – not listening to military leaders. Asked who is America’s greatest adversary, despite the Pentagon and Intelligence Community both claiming for years our top geopolitical challenge is China, Harris responded, “I think there’s an obvious one in mind, which is Iran.”
If Harris believes it is Iran, why has she failed to object to Biden’s continuing release of billions of dollars of that country’s withheld assets over the past three-plus years? Less than a year ago, Biden issued a sanctions waiver to Iran that enabled it to access $10 billion of the assets in Iraq – which is just a drop in the bucket compared to the total amount released. It is well-known such assets are then used by the mullahs to fund terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, including the Oct. 7, 2023, raid into Israel. Yet Harris never raised an objection.
In her interview, Harris added, “Iran has American blood on their hands, OK? … We need … to ensure that Iran never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power. That is one of my highest priorities.” Due to her blessing Biden’s decisions, she may already be too late. It is feared what was initially deemed a 4.5 earthquake Iran experienced on the evening of Oct. 5 may well have been a nuclear test explosion. Yet Harris refuses to answer questions concerning a U.S. response.
Further indication that Harris is unfit to be president was evidenced by a trip to South Korea where she claimed the Republic of North Korea has been our long-term ally. While supporters defended her and claimed it was a gaffe, it is difficult to believe a country that has never been a U.S. ally since its inception in 1948 could trigger such an outrageous misstatement.
Meanwhile, domestically, these same national security experts seem to accept the Harris’ refusal to acknowledge that allowing illegal aliens into the U.S. has been a mistake, despite the onset of numerous hardships upon the American people and the obvious undermining of our national security.
Shame on those national intelligence experts who, supporting the Biden-Harris team in 2020, deceived us and still feel no need to apologize for having falsely influenced a presidential election. Shame on us if we allow it to be done again.