Former Treasury Secretary confirms TheBlaze’s Sept. 2013 report that Russia played a role in the 2008 financial crisis

Back in September of 2013, For The Record looked at the possibility that countries hostile to the U.S., like China and Russia, may have artificially driven up the price of oil and intentionally crashed the stocks of some financial institutions, escalating chaos prior to the 2008 economic crisis. Yesterday, a BBC report seemingly confirmed this investigation.

In a September article for TheBlaze.com, TheBlaze’s senior Washington correspondent Sara Carter explained the threat of economic terrorism to the United States.

Carter writes:

China, Russia and even Al Qaeda, among others, all have one thing in common: They believe that unconventional warfare against America’s economy is the best way to destroy our nation without actually ever having to fire a shot.

And our enemies almost made it happen in 2008.

[…]

[F]ormer senior U.S. officials disclose what the Pentagon and Washington establishment had been hoping to bury — that the near economic collapse of the United States in 2008 was not due to widespread failures in government regulations, but a planned attack to destroy our nation perpetrated by both China and Russia.

Read Carter’s entire report HERE.

Watch the initial coverage from September’s For The Record: Unrestricted Warfare below:

Six months after For The Record’s report, it appears others in the media are starting to pick up the story. In a BBC article published yesterday entitled “Russia ‘planned Wall Street bear raid’”, business editor Robert Peston describes the cynical relationship between the United States and Russia as “deep, rooted in history.” Furthermore, the relationship shows that the “triumph of capitalism over communism wasn’t the end of the power game between these two nations.”

The BBC article relies on excerpts from interviews with former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson that were conducted for the BBC Two documentary “How China Fooled the World.” These comments didn’t make the film.

In relation to the 2008 financial crisis, particularly Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Paulson explained that the Chinese were the “biggest external investor holding Fannie and Freddie Securities.” As a result, China was “very, very concerned” when Fannie and Freddie began to melt down. At that moment, the Russians allegedly tried to draw up a pact with the Chinese.

“Here I’m not going to name the senior person, but I was meeting with someone… This person told me that the Chinese had received a message from the Russians which was, ‘Hey let’s join together and sell Fannie and Freddie securities on the market,’” Paulson explained. “The Chinese weren’t going to do that but again, it just, it just drove home to me how vulnerable I felt until we had put Fannie and Freddie into conservatorship [the rescue plan for them, that was eventually put in place].”

While Paulson clarified that “this guerrilla skirmish in markets by the Russians and Chinese didn't happen,” Peston believes Paulson’s comments are “pretty jaw-dropping stuff.”

“The Chinese told Hank Paulson that the Russians were suggesting a joint pact with China to drive down the price of the debt of Fannie and Freddie, and maximize the turmoil on Wall Street - presumably with a view to maximizing the cost of the rescue for Washington and further damaging its financial health,” Peston writes.

Read the entire BBC report HERE.

As we watch the Obama Administration flounder on the world stage – especially in relation to crisis in Ukraine – Glenn warned of the consequences on radio this morning.

“Hank Paulson came out and… verified… Russia tried to collapse the United States in 2008… We had [the story], and it was one of those things we were mocked for. For the Record had it in absolute iron-clad spades,” Glenn said. “So we know that Putin has designs on collapsing the United States of America. That's not Glenn Beck. That's Hank Paulson, our [former] treasury secretary.”

As Glenn explained, this report should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with history. The tactics used by the United States collapse the Soviet Union are the same tactics now being by Russia to collapse the U.S.

“We know [Putin] wants to actively engage in collapsing the United States of America, so what do you do? Well, you spend us into oblivion. Stretch us really thin. This is not a new theory. We know this works because we did it to them. We are so stupid. We don't even recognize our own pattern. This is how we collapsed [the Soviet Union],” Glenn explained. “We worked with anyone who would take them apart anywhere in the world. That's how we did it. And then Ronald Reagan went and just schooled their premiers and just made them look like bumbling idiots on the world stage. And that thing closed down.”

Unfortunately, our current President is more concerned about fighting back against the personal attacks he is facing than looking at how dire the situation actually is.

“So what are they doing to us? What's happening to us right now,” Glenn asked exasperatedly. “And our President is making this into a personal attack. Our President, instead of being a statesman, decided to make it about seven people who don't even have any assets. John Kerry comes on the world stage, ‘You had better do this. Otherwise, there will be real consequences!’ Real consequences against seven people who don't even have assets outside of their general country?”

“That's right, Glenn,” Pat responded with his best John Kerry impersonation. “Who's laughing now?”

“The world,” Glenn concluded.

Learn more about the economic warfare threats the United States faces by watching For The Record: Unrestricted Warfare. TheBlaze TV subscribers can watch the episode on-demand HERE. Not a subscriber? Start your 14-day free trial HERE.

Trump's education secretary has BIG plans for the DoE

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Our education system is broken, and the Department of Education is a massive failure. But that all ends now.

It's no secret that America's school system is seriously lacking in many ways. President Trump pointed out that despite our massive spending per pupil, we are behind most of the developed world in most metrics. Our scores continue to plummet while our student debt and spending skyrocket—it's utterly unacceptable performance and America's students deserve better.

That's where Linda McMahon, Trump's pick for Secretary of Education comes in.

The former WWE CEO and leader of the U.S. Small Business Administration during Trump's first term, McMahon laid out her harsh criticisms of the DoE during a confirmation hearing on the 13th and revealed her promising plans to turn things around. McMahon described the public education system as "in decline" and promised that under her authority, the DoE would be reoriented towards student success.

Here are the top three changes to the Department of Education:

1. Dismantling the Department of Education

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From the beginning Trump's orders for McMahon were clear: oversee the end of the Department of Education.

During her Thursday hearing, McMahon clarified what dismantling the DoE would entail. As Democrats have repeatedly pointed out, Trump does not have the authority to destroy the DoE without Congressional consent, as an act of Congress created it. That is why Trump and McMahon's plan is to start by shutting down programs that can be stopped by executive action, then approach Congress with a plan to dismantle the Department for good. The executive orders have already begun to take effect, and once McMahon is confirmed she will author a plan for Congress to close the Department.

McMahon also promised that the end of the Department of Education does not mean an end to all the programs currently undertaken by the doomed department. Programs that are deemed beneficial will be transferred (along with their funding) to departments that are more suited to the task. The example given by McMahon was IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding, which instead of being cut would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services.

2. School Choice

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In a huge win for parents across the country, McMahon pledged her support for School Choice. School Choice is the idea of allowing parents to enroll their student in any school of their choice, including religious schools and private schools. It would also mean that part or all of the funding that would have gone to a relocated child would follow them and continue to pay for their education.

This gives parents the ability to remove their children from failing schools and seek a better education for them elsewhere. A growing body of evidence suggests that the way we run our schools isn't working, and it is time to try something new. School Choice opens up education to the free market and will allow for competition.

Our children deserve better than what we can currently offer them.

3. COVID and DEI

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Trump's government-wide crackdown on DEI will ironically serve to increase inclusion in many American schools.

McMahon said as much during her Senate hearing: “It was put in place ostensibly for more diversity, for equity and inclusion. And I think what we’re seeing is, it is having an opposite effect. We are getting back to more segregating of our schools instead of having more inclusion in our schools.” She also spoke in support of Title IX, and the push to remove biological males from women's and girl's sports. In the same vein, McMahon pledged to push back against the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, which many Universities have failed to adequately address.

On Friday, February 14th, President Trump signed an executive order barring any school or university with COVID-19 vaccine mandates from receiving federal money. This only applies to the COVID-19 vaccine, and other vaccine mandates are still standing.

POLL: What DARK government secrets will Trump uncover?

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Will the dark secrets of the Deep State finally see the light of day? Or will they slip back into darkness, as they have many times before?

The Trump administration is gearing up to fulfill one of Trump's most anticipated campaign promises: to make the contents of the JFK files, along with other Deep State secrets, available to the public. Kash Patel, who has promised to publicize the highly anticipated files, is expected to be confirmed next week as Trump's director of the FBI. Moreover, the House Oversight Committee created a new task force headed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called "Task Force on Declassification of Federal Secrets," which is tasked with investigating and declassifying information on the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, UFOs, the Epstein list, COVID's origins, and 9/11. This all comes after the FBI found 2,400 "new" records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy following Trump's executive order to release the files.

Glenn discussed this topic with the cast of the Patrick Bet David podcast. Glenn expressed his confidence in Trump's radical transparency—on the condition that Kash Patel is confirmed. The cast was not as optimistic, expressing some doubt about whether Trump will actually unveil all that he has promised. But what do you think? What files are likely to see the light of day? And what files will continue to linger in the dark? Let us know in the poll below

Do you think the JFK, RFK, and MLK files will be unveiled?

Do you think the 9/11 files will be unveiled?

Do you think the COVID files will be unveiled?

Do you think the UFO files will be unveiled?

Do you think the Epstein list will be unveiled?

Transgender opera in Colombia? 10 SHOCKING ways USAID spent your tax dollars.

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The government has been doing what with our tax money!?

Under the determined eye of Elon Musk, DOGE has rooted out the corruption that permeates USAID, and it turns out that it's worse than we thought. Glenn recently read a list of atrocious causes that were funded by USAID, and the list was as long as it was shocking.

Since the January consumer index report was published today, one thing is clear: eggs are bearing the brunt of inflation. That's why we illustrated the extent of USAID's wasteful spending of YOUR taxpayer dollars by comparing it to the price of eggs. How many eggs could the American people have bought with their tax dollars that were given to a "transgender opera" in Colombia or indoctrinating Sri Lankans with woke gender ideology? The truth will shock you:

1. A “transgender opera” in Colombia

USAID spent $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia. That's over 135,000 eggs.

2. Sex changes and "LGBT activism" in Guatemala

$2 million was spent funding sex changes along with whatever "LGBT activism" means. That equates to over 5.7 million eggs!

3. Teaching Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid binary-gendered language

USAID forked over $7.9 million to combat the "gender binary" in Sri Lankan journalism. That could have bought nearly 23 million eggs.

4. Tourism in Egypt

$6 million (or just over 17 million eggs) was spent to fund tourism in Egypt. If only someone had thought to build some impressive landmarks...

5. A new "Sesame Street" show in Iraq

USAID spent $20 million to create a new Sesame Street show in Iraq. That's just short of 58 million eggs...

6. Helping the BBC value the diversity of Libyan society

$2.1 million was sent to the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) to help them value the diversity of Libyan society (whatever that means). That could have bought over 6 million eggs.

7. Meals for a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda

$10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group. That comes up to be just shy of 29 million eggs.

8. Promoting inclusion in Vietnam 

A combined $19.3 million was sent to two separate inclusion groups in Vietnam inclusion groups in Vietnam (why where they separated? Not very inclusive of them). That's over 55 million eggs.

9. Promoting DEI in Serbia's workplaces

USAID sent $1.5 million (4.3 million eggs) to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

10. Funding EcoHealth Alliance, tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology's "bat research"

EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key NGOs that funded the Wuhan lab's bat virus research, received $5 million from USAID, which is equivalent to 14.5 million eggs.

The bottom line...

So, how much damage was done?

In total, approximately $73.8 million was wasted on the items on this list. That comes out to be 213 million eggs. Keep in mind that these are just the items on this list, there are many, many more that DOGE has uncovered and will uncover in the coming days. Case in point: that's a lot of eggs.

POLL: Should Trump stop producing pennies?

SAUL LOEB / Contributor, Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

On Sunday, February 9th, President Trump ordered the U.S. Mint to halt the production of pennies. It costs the mint three cents to produce every penny, which Trump deemed wasteful. However, critics argue that axing the pennies will be compensated by ramping up nickel production, which costs 13 cents per coin.

In other news, President Trump promised on Truth Social that he would be reversing a Biden-era policy that mandated the use of paper straws throughout the federal government. From potentially slashing entire agencies to saying farewell to pennies and paper straws, Trump is hounding after wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

But what do you think? Was Trump right to put an end to pennies? And should plastic straws make a comeback? Let us know in the poll below:

Should Trump stop the production of pennies? 

Do you agree with Trump's reversal of the plastic straw ban?