Erin Banco
@ErinBanco
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National security correspondent focusing on intelligence @Reuters.
Joined August 2008
UPDATE tonight: DOD has received 0 requests from states asking for military assistance.
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The CDC is recommending people do not travel for Thanksgiving this year.
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Sen. Romney on CNN calls Americans who support Putin “almost treasonous.”.
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This hearing has been remarkable. Dr. Fauci publicly contradicting talking points from WH and VP's office. Really underlying the severity of the situation we're in right now. Turning point, in my mind. First public appearance where we're really getting somewhat of a full picture.
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Dr. Fauci is asked about the president cutting the NSC desk that would have handled coronavirus. "We worked well with them. It would be nice if it was still around".
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NEW: The 60 generators FEMA sent to Texas are, as of this morning, sitting in a staging area in Ft. Worth waiting for delivery instructions. 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel also standing by. FEMA officials are waiting for instructions from Texas officials about were to send it.
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Dr. Facui in congressional hearing this morning:. Q: Is the worst yet to come, Dr. Fauci?.A: Yes. Yes it is.
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On the call, the Gov. of Maine told the president that she was concerned about the president showing up in her state later this week. Said she was concerned that it would cause security problems.
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NEW: Pentagon officials say it was the White House, not the Defense Department, pushing for military might in the streets—with Trump seeking details on “tanks” that could be used.
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NEW: I spoke to Fauci about the Trump campaign:. "By doing this against my will, they are in effect harassing me. Since campaign ads are about getting votes, their harassment of me might have the opposite effect of turning some voters off.".
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Fauci: "[Coronavirus] is ten times more lethal than the seasonal flu".
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BREAKING: CDC is updating its guidelines for vaccinated individuals, saying they can travel domestically and internationally without a Covid-19 test as long as they wear a mask in public. Individuals who travel do not need to self-quarantine.
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Scoop: The U.S. has sent the coordinates of aid organizations on the ground in Gaza to Israel to help prevent strikes. Despite that effort, many humanitarian sites have been bombarded.
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At least four nurses and doctors working on coronavirus in NYC told me that Friday was the first day they really felt overwhelmed with patients, many of whom were otherwise healthy and under 40 yrs old.
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This is an incredible departure from what Birx and other task force officials told governors just a few weeks ago. On that call, they told governors that there was a way to reopen schools safely. They also said surveillance testing shouldn't necessarily be required.
.@DanaBashCNN presses Dr. Deborah Birx on school reopenings. “If you have high case load and active community spread … we’re asking people to distance learn at this moment so we can get this epidemic under control,” Dr. Birx says. #CNNSOTU
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This is a really big deal. RDIF is really important to Putin personally and is run by one of his closest supporters, Dmitriev.
The Secretary of Treasury will also be imposing full blocking sanctions on the Russian Direct Investment Fund--a state owned financial entity that functions as a sovereign wealth fund, which is supposed to attract capital into the Russian economy in high-growth sectors.
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Just got off the phone with Sen. Graham: "We need to get ready for a major pushback. Our people in Iraq and the Middle East are going to be targeted. We need to be ready to defend our people in the Middle East. I think we need to be ready for a big counterpunch.".
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NEW: the State IG was pursuing an investigation into Pomepeo’s misuse of a political appointee to perform personal tasks for himself and his wife, per one Dem aide I spoke with.
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Senators seemed to be glued to materials and awake during the last section on Ukraine conspiracy theories. Looked like a lot of people didn’t know the level of this disinformation.
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NEW: After his int w/@jaketapper Fauci tells me even through the Trump campaign is "harassing" him, there's "not a chance" he would quit. "Not in my wildest freakin dreams,” he said.
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Exclusive: Mueller is investigating additional Seychelles meeting (s)
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NEW: Embassy Staffers Say Jared Kushner Shut Them Out of Saudi Meetings
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NEW: Per sources, this national security warning is not an urgent situation that the US needs to concern itself with "today." It is a longer-term problem. And this raw intel has existed on the Hill for some time. Not sure what prompted the Turner statement.
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BREAK: The White House warned attendees of the Gold Star family event Sept. 27 that they may have been exposed to COVID-19. Raises questions about whether it knew there was a COVID-positive individual in attendance . W/@attackerman @swin24 @samstein .
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I've been quiet on here recently. Here's why:. We obtained U.S. cables and internal documents from inside Prigozhin's network. They reveal exclusive new details about how Wagner+co has expanded across the world and why Western officials are so concerned.
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SCOOP: While his Justice Department finalized a plan with Australian officials for the U.S. to help free two Australian bloggers from a Tehran prison, AG Barr had another request: help investigate the origins of the Mueller inquiry. W/ @LachCartwright.
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BREAKING:.Ambassador Volker has confirmed he will appear this Thursday. Ambassador Yovanovitch, who was previously scheduled for this Wednesday, will now be appearing on Oct. 11 with the agreement of both the Committees and counsel.
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BREAKING: In new letter, Engel and McCaul call for briefing on Jared's trip to Saudi no later than April 5.
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SCOOP—.George Nader, Witness in Mueller Probe, Hit With New Charges of Sex Trafficking
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NEW INVESTIGATION: A six-month probe by POLITICO found the U.S. could not adequately contain Covid-19 because state public health departments relied on outdated data systems and struggled to staff enough people to investigate and isolate positive cases.
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New w/ @swin24. Here’s the story of how the WH and State Dept went on a wild goose chase to see who at the embassy in Brussels liked a Chelsea Clinton tweet during a Trump-Clinton spat. They interviewed 10 staffers.
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EXCLUSIVE: Mueller Probes a Nunes Meeting at Trump’s D.C. Hotel in January 2017. w/ @swin24 @woodruffbets @attackerman
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Spoke to several people right before the briefing ended. The line from the admin was that the witnesses were called away for a previously scheduled meeting. That Dr. Fauci had misspoken when he said it was emergency. But no one has been able to say what meeting this is.
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SCOOP: The Secret Service has issued an intelligence bulletin warning of additional armed protests in DC before and after the inauguration, particularly from the Boogaloo Boys, that in some cases it expects to become violent.@attackerman @sambrodey @swin24
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NEW w/ @samstein NEW: Dems say they've been told Mueller is willing to testify, but DOJ has been unwilling to set a date.
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BARR: Mentions "antifa" and "other such extremist groups" hijacking protests. mentions groups with "other political persuasions". But doesn't call out those, for example, in Las Vegas who identified with the "Boogooloo" movement.
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"Lawyers for the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) employer argued in a court filing Monday that women athletes are less skilled and work less demanding jobs than their male counterparts.". HUH. Must have missed all those men's world cup titles .
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NEW: At Bellevue (NYC) -one of the only designated coronavirus centers in the U.S. (75 beds)--hundreds of masks went missing overnight as news broke that the virus had reached the U.S.
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FEMA says power outages and transportation impacts have affected COVID-19 vaccination delivery across several states with sites temporarily closed and rescheduling.appointments.
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NEW: When State Department inspector general Steve Linick was abruptly fired, one of the inquiries he was conducting concerned a massive, highly controversial weapons sale to Saudi Arabia. Now the administration is preparing to sell Riyadh even more PGMs
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NEW: Senior DOD officials said they viewed Esper's comments on the gov call as a way to publicly show support for Trump. They did not expect the department to actually implement a plan that would reflect the president’s rhetoric . w/@attackerman @swin24 .
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This outbreak is a reflection of how the WH has handled the national response to this virus. They have continued to ignore the advice and guidance from health officials and scientists. And they’ve endangered the livelihood of those around them as a result.
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Biden approved an emergency declaration for Oklahoma today. Louisiana also asked for approval yesterday. No word yet on that request.
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I'm getting a lot of calls from sources, including regular citizens, who are just genuinely scared about all this. And they don't like being told to calm down or to not be scared. That doesn't help. They're confused. And they want real answers.
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NEW: WH officials, including high ranking officials, are discussing resigning. They're trying to convince each other not to do it tonight. w/@swin24 .
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Dr. Fauci aggressively pushing for upping containment measures. Says he can't give a realistic number of people that will be exposed because he says it depends on how the government responds. "We can't be complacent".
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Fauci again asked about this. Then pressed to answer whether Trump's steps taken in Jan helped the situation. Fauci: With respect, I'd like to look ahead now. We need to be doing a lot more.
Dr. Facui in congressional hearing this morning:. Q: Is the worst yet to come, Dr. Fauci?.A: Yes. Yes it is.
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NEW: The @housedemocrats tweet was NOT an accident, per Michael Hardaway, spokesman for the Caucus.
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UPDATED: Tillerson spoke to the committee about Jared Kushner, the administration’s reaction to Russian interference, and much more. Read here:
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SCOOP: The DeSantis admin forced these two counties into reopening schools for in person learning after they’d approved plans to implement virtual education. Hendry Country has one of the highest infection rates in the state.
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SCOOP: The State IG’s office is preparing to recommend disciplinary action for Brian Hook for his role in politically motivated firings at the department
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Idk what Rubio is doing but he has barely looked up from his notebook in the past hour.
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NEW: Biden officials have become increasingly concerned that Hamas has been able to recruit during wartime — thousands over the last several months - allowing thee group to withstand months of Israeli offensives. w/@alexbward @laraseligman .
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Totally wild that Trump, with the CDC rep next to him, was basically like actually no i don't think its assessment is right. I don't think it's inevitable. Her face in that frame was priceless.
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SCOOP: The CDC and HHS are working to recalculate Covid hospitalizations in the U.S. Here’s why:.
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Scoop: Donald Trump informed Sidney Powell on Monday that he does not intend to appoint her “special counsel” to investigate “election fraud". w/@swin24 .
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NADLER: "The Department of Justice has also been reluctant to confirm a date for Special Counsel Mueller to testify. Given this evening’s reports, I will press the Department to schedule that hearing without delay.”.
NEW w/ @samstein NEW: Dems say they've been told Mueller is willing to testify, but DOJ has been unwilling to set a date.
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Spoke to Dr. Fauci for a while tonight. Here's a rundown of where we're at with the vaccine:. 1. "This is a new platform and there was always skepticism about using a new platform. Now we know it was successful". Fauci said MODERNA vaccine is also likely going to be successful.
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NEW: Health officials are livid about the WH statement that said the admin had ended COVID-19. “It’s mind boggling,” one official said. "There’s no world in which anyone can think that [statement] is true.
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NEW: NSA O'Brien is considering resigning as is Matt Pottinger, per two sources familiar with the convos. calls have been made to ask officials to stay on through the night. MORE with @swin24 .
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Scoop: Top nat sec officials are contingency planning for the very real possibility that Trump doesn’t respect the final results of the election. W/@arawnsley.
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NEW: The IDF used a truck that bore the appearance of an aid vehicle to rescue the hostages from Gaza, setting off a firefight. Now, aid groups are increasingly worried about being targeted and refuse to pick up food pallets on the beaches w/@laraseligman.
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NEW: Warnings about Giuliani and his links to Russia-friendly Ukrainians began in Jan. 2019. Bolton told his staff to steer clear of any meetings where Giuliani was involved. Staff were also told to withhold info from Kash Patel. w/@attackerman @swin24.
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NEW: Nearly a month before Trump’s July phone call with Zelensky, top officials in Kiev were so concerned about the fate of U.S. political and military support for the country, that at least two inquired about the matter with Washington
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NEW w/@swin24 . Trump and members of his task force are pushing the CDC to change how the the agency works with states to count covid19 deaths.They’re pushing for revisions that could lead to far fewer deaths being counted than originally reported.
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NEW: Health officials say they can’t efficiently track and contain Omicron because the country still doesn’t have accurate and real-time data. Over the past few months, Biden officials have relied on international data because they say it’s more reliable
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NEW: Mueller Exposes Erik Prince’s Lies About His Seychelles Rendezvous with Top Russian Kirill Dmitriev.
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‘Very, Very Scary’: Officials Dumbfounded as Florida Beaches Reopen, 3 Days After Death Spike
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NEW: Federal Watchdog Probes Trump Administration Push for Saudi Arabia Nuclear Deal
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NEW exclu:Pompeo was supposed to go to Kyiv in November but Trump pulled the plug at the last minute in part because of the release of Taylor’s deposition transcript. Pompeo wanted to avoid the embassy and conduct meetings at hotel room
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CUOMO: "If you want to do an analysis of who is a giver and who is a taker. we are the number one giver. No one puts more money into the pot than the state of New York. Who are the taker states? Kentucky.".
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Fauci this morning: Says other countries more prepared for testing, says US should be doing better and isn't there yet.
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Birx has urged CDC officials to exclude from coronavirus death count reporting some of those individuals who either do not have confirmed lab results and are presumed positive or who have the virus and may not have died as a direct result of it.
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NEW: Ukraine will ask the White House this week to lift ALL restrictions on using American-supplied weapons in Russian territory, Andriy Yermak told us w/@alexbward .
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“There's absolutely not 1700 engineers at Verily. I'm not even sure there are 1700 people at Verily,”the employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Daily Beast Friday.
“The president’s announcement sowed confusion among reporters and officials inside the White House about what exactly the president was talking about.”
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NEW: There are now about 300 National Guard troops deployed throughout Texas to assist with the winter storm mission. Up from 100 this AM. They are completing wellness checks, helping vehicles on the snowy roads, etc.
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A warning from all of them: Younger, healthy people need to take these lockdowns seriously. Not just for the old, more vulnerable folks. Young people are dying, too.
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Some of what we found was stunning:.-Prigozhin's network tried to open offices in Mexico in 2020.-It led a disinfo campaign in Estonia to stir anti-NATO sentiment.-US officials have drafted a roadmap to rout Wagner out of the Central African Republic.
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NEW: Castro launches probe into Pompeo’s decision to deliver RNC speech. Writes to Biegun asking for docs and a briefing.
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NEW: If Trump refuses to accept the results, one of the options being discussed is having the FBI or DHS make a public statement reaffirming the integrity of the results .
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NEW: House Judiciary Committee Planning Hearing on the Rise of White Nationalism via @thedailybeast.
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I know this has been said a lot and it's sort of a "of course" situation, but it is really remarkable how little Graham sits in on the trial.
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CDC is also recommending that you wear masks inside the house if you do choose to travel.
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Just got off the phone w/ Dr. Fiscus from TN who said re: retribution, threats and pushback to her speaking out that she believes it is emanating from "certain GOP legislators and the gov's office." . "The governor is tightly held in Trump's circles," she said.
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NEW: CDC tells us that after much speculation there HAS been an uptick in pneumonia and flu deaths in Florida since Jan 1. Many of those individuals likely had Covid19 but weren’t tagged as having contracted it.
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One nurse I spoke to said the population she's seen in her hospital with COVID19 are NOT majority over 65. There is a real mix. Worried people are coming to the hospital too late, when symptoms are bad.
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Nader full indictment with specific language on exact counts, including sex trafficking. “Engaged in sexual acts with” .
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SCOOP: State officials told us they've been so frustrated by the vaxx distro process that they want to move to purchase it from the companies directly. Team Biden is urging states to hold off, saying help is on the way
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Fiona Hill: “The president was trying to stage a coup. There was little chance of it happening but there was enough chance that the former defense secretaries had to put out that letter. They prevented the military from being involved. But instead Trump tried to incited it.".
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EXCLUSIVE w/ @woodruffbets .Trump’s DHS Guts Task Forces Protecting Elections From Foreign Meddling
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The CDC describes these guidelines as "strong recommendations" but not mandates. Points to increasing hospitalizations and cases as reason for caution.
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NEW: From @sambrodey and me:.House Judiciary Dems are pushing for VP Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump or, failing that, impeach him immediately. Trump "mentally unsound" & still unable to process and accept the results of the election.
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