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In a stunning exposé, investigative journalist Max Blumenthal has unmasked CIA Director John Ratcliffe as a product of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), allegedly groomed to serve as a loyal puppet for Israeli intelligence within President Donald Trump’s inner circle.
Blumenthal claims Ratcliffe, a small-town lawyer with no intelligence experience, was handpicked by AIPAC and Mossad to push fabricated intelligence that lured Trump into a disastrous strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities—a move Blumenthal now calls “Operation Midnight Scammer.”
Speaking on Judging Freedom with Judge Andrew Napolitano on June 25, Blumenthal revealed explosive details about Ratcliffe’s rise from obscurity to one of Trump’s most trusted advisors. According to Blumenthal, exclusive audio from an off-the-record AIPAC congressional briefing obtained by his outlet, The Grayzone, captures AIPAC’s CEO Elliot Brandt boasting about cultivating Ratcliffe since his days as a congressman from Dallas.
“AIPAC had groomed John Ratcliffe since the beginning of his career,” Blumenthal said, painting him as a loyalist to the Israel lobby, which he describes as “an arm of Israeli intelligence in the United States.”
Ratcliffe’s credentials raise red flags.
A former mayor of Heath, Texas—a town of just 7,000—Ratcliffe had no background in intelligence or the military before entering Congress. Yet, funded by AIPAC and Israel lobby money, he quickly became a fierce Trump defender, earning nominations first as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and later as CIA Director.
Blumenthal alleges Ratcliffe’s loyalty to Trump was matched only by his allegiance to Israel, making him the perfect conduit for Mossad’s agenda. A Trump official told Blumenthal that Ratcliffe acted as “Mossad’s stenographer,” delivering “phony” intelligence claims, including the absurd notion that Iran could provide a nuclear warhead to Yemen’s Houthis within a week.
The result was catastrophic.
Blumenthal says Mossad briefers, including Director David Barnea, fed Ratcliffe and Trump exaggerated threats about Iran’s nuclear program, pushing for the “Midnight Hammer” strike on Iran’s Fordow facility. But the Defense Intelligence Agency later confirmed Iran had moved its enriched uranium stockpile, leaving Trump’s bombs to hit empty tunnels. Israeli pundits have since admitted the strike was symbolic, designed to entangle the U.S. in Israel’s regime-change ambitions.
“This was a scam,” Blumenthal declared, accusing Ratcliffe of enabling a deception that betrayed Trump’s America First principles.
Ratcliffe’s past only deepens the suspicion. Blumenthal points to Ratcliffe’s failed 2019 DNI nomination, derailed after he lied about his role in the controversial Holy Land Foundation case—a politicized terrorism trial allegedly managed by Mossad, where Palestinian-American defendants received life sentences based on dubious evidence. Ratcliffe’s false claim of leading the case, Blumenthal argues, shows his willingness to bend the truth for Israel’s benefit. Despite this, Trump pushed him through as DNI in 2020 and later as CIA Director, possibly prioritizing loyalty over competence.
The backlash is shaking Trump’s base. MAGA heavyweights like Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson have slammed the Iran strike, with Bannon calling Trump an “Orange McCain” for falling into a neocon trap.
A CNN poll cited by Blumenthal shows only 20% of Republicans under 45 support the strike, signaling a revolt among Trump’s core supporters.
Even Trump appears frustrated, publicly criticizing Israel for violating a ceasefire he brokered, saying, “They don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.”
Ratcliffe’s rise reeks of a globalist plot to infiltrate Trump’s administration. With AIPAC’s tentacles allegedly wrapped around the CIA director, is Ratcliffe steering Trump toward more wars for Israel? Moreover, why hasn’t Director Ratcliffe briefed the public on a deep state purge at the CIA? Why hasn’t the DOJ announced prosecutions for bad actors en masse? Is Director Ratcliffe simply more of the same?
The MAGA base demands answers, and Trump must act to investigate this alleged Manchurian candidate before America is dragged deeper into foreign quagmires. The future of America First hangs in the balance.
