What Was CIA Director John Brennan’s Role in the Russia-Trump Hoax?

Published: Dec. 23, 2019, 11 p.m.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Aaron Maté, a journalist with The Grayzone and The Nation and the host of the show Pushback with Aaron Maté.


As the impeachment process continues as the news headliner, another story continues to unfold. US Attorney for the state of Connecticut John Durham confirmed last week that his investigation into the origins of the Russiagate story has turned into a criminal inquiry. Durham has requested that the CIA turn over all of the phone records, emails, and contemporaneous notes of former director John Brennan. The CIA said that it is cooperating, as has Brennan. Durham is known for his dogged pursuit of gangsters and corrupt FBI agents, and he investigated the CIA’s torture program from 2009 to 2012.



In this segment, The Week Ahead, the hosts take a look at the most newsworthy stories of the coming week and what it means for the country and the world, including the resignation of Boeing’s CEO, tensions in Korea, death sentences in the trial of the killers of Jamal Khasoggi, and more. Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.



At the start of 2019, the White House and the State Department wanted us to believe that Juan Guaidó was the legitimate President of Venezuela. Chosen by Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and John Bolton, Guaidó was a minor opposition figure when he was arbitrarily installed as President and recognized by more than 50 countries. But then something unexpected happened. The Venezuelan economy began to stabilize. The army remained loyal to the legitimate president, Nicolas Maduro, and Guaido watched his support inside and outside the country wane and then disappear. What will 2020 bring? Brian and John speak with Lucas Koerner, an activist and writer for VenezuelAnalysis.com.



Monday’s segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers” is where Bill helps us look at the state of education across the country. What’s happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto,” joins Brian and John.



Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules is a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights and civil liberties. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa and software engineer and technology and security analyst Patricia Gorky join the show.