A recent Substack article, titled ‘How America Took Out the Nord Stream Pipeline’ by Seymour Hersh, makes some serious allegations about an alleged U.S. ‘covert sea operation’ that’s been kept a secret. The Nord Stream Pipeline was sabotaged in September 2022 and those responsible for the attack remain a mystery. There’s no reason to believe America was truly behind the event, but if we were, as Sen. Mike Lee recently tweeted, it could result in war. In this clip, Glenn and his senior researcher, Jason Buttrill, discuss what may have happened to the pipeline nearly five months ago…
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: All right. I want to bring in -- I want to bring in Jason Buttrill, who is with me. And is going to explain exactly what is going on, with this one report. From one source.
So I say that clearly at the beginning. There's problems with this reporting. Because it is one source.
And I wouldn't take that from the New York Times as gospel.
So let's remember, one source. But it's pretty damning. It has a ton of facts.
Tell me the story, Jason, on what happened. And where this report is coming from.
JASON: I struggle to even really describe how to tell the story. Because it sounds like -- you familiar with the term fan fiction?
GLENN: Yes.
JASON: That's what was off the internet, what would really happen if Anakin Skywalker didn't become Darth Vader. This is the story. That's what it sounds like.
GLENN: Right. Right.
JASON: But Mike Lee is exactly right. If this is true, this is an act of war.
And what they're alleging is that the CIA, the Biden administration came up with the plan, to eliminate the Nord Stream two pipeline. To blow it up. And we all remember -- I think I even came on this program. I think you asked me. Do you think this was us? I said, well, no.
We would never risk something like a direct attack on a Russian asset. Never risk it.
GLENN: Here's the thing: I think it was Germany or Sweden, released a report that showed, Russia didn't do it.
And how many countries have the ability to do something like this?
This was not an easy hit.
JASON: Not an easy hit. And not even an easy hit for Americans. It would take a long time.
It would take very specific assets, like SEAL team six.
GLENN: Correct.
JASON: But the article goes into that. They couldn't use a SEAL Team 6, or anyone in JSOC. Joint Special Operation Command. Because they didn't have to go through Congress. Now, this is a big part of the story, if true.
They use some obscure Navy divers that are not part of JSOC, so then the CIA could use them in a joint intelligence operation. Not a military operation, an intelligence operation.
That would allow them to keep this quiet from Congress.
Now, think about that. Like Mike Lee said, this would be an act of war, if they did it and we found out.
But we didn't inform Congress about it, if true. There are multiple layers to this, even right off the bat.
GLENN: Who is this written by?
JASON: This was written by a guy named Seymour Hersh.
He wrote for the New York Times.
GLENN: He was a guy who got the -- the Pulitzer, for exposing the melee in Vietnam.
And he has done many exposés, but they generally kind of lean against America, do they not?
JASON: Yeah, there was the one in -- well, I guess, the bigger one would be Osama bin Laden questioning how all of that went down. Even actually questioned Osama bin Laden's culpability in 9/11.
This is what you kind of see with journalists nowadays, especially we saw this in the Russiagate stuff.
It's almost like they got on this Woodward and Bernstein high, and they all want to top each other off of it.
So where do you go after topping something like Woodward and Bernstein. They are getting more and more fantastical, and always trying to one up.
GLENN: Well, but not necessarily. This story is why you need --
JASON: True.
GLENN: -- a credible press. Why you need journalistic standards and not activists.
JASON: Yeah.
GLENN: Because we are dealing with the story now, that if it is true, the American people gone for this.
But it's the American people, if true, that will pay the price.
It will be our sons and daughters, fighting a war, with Russia, and probably half of the world, because of something our out of control Deep State did.
JASON: Yeah.
GLENN: And we wouldn't have been for it.
Now, how do we prove it? Who do you believe?
Do you believe the investigators with Congress?
Do you believe the investigators from the New York Times?
Who do you believe? There's one source on this. Which I would love to have. Because you were former military Intel. So I would love to have your thought on this.
Something this large. Because the story is pages and pages and pages. And has great detail on it.
It's all coming from one source. What are the odds, that something this secret, this complex had more than a few -- maybe five -- maybe five key holders that could unlock all of the information.
JASON: So let me just -- from my Intel perspective.
My real world experience is Afghanistan. I was one of the first ground troops, conventional, into Afghanistan after 9/11. So I was part of the planning phase. Just on my small level, my unit.
I didn't know that certain things are going on in Northern Afghanistan.
I knew a lot of the stuff in the South.
When we got on the ground, I didn't even know that there were Special Forces in certain areas, that had been there for a while. That was not my need to know.
Must need to know that. And that was right before a war. So just that perspective.
There's no way, in my mind, that a mid- or lower level, say that carefully, person would have operational knowledge in that detail. You would need cabinet-level or director-level access.
GLENN: Now it's interesting, because the way you're phrasing this and you're being very, very accurate on things. A cabinet-level or director-level might have this information.
Why would you bring up director-level information, on something this sensitive.
I mean, director-level. This was done by the CIA. Okay?
So at least in this report. Done by the CIA. So it would mean, what? Like the director of the CIA.
Why would he rat himself out?
JASON: I mean, that's a really good question. That's a really good question. Unless he was doing his duty, and did not believe in what they were doing.
GLENN: Is there any example of a director level spilling their guts on something like this?
JASON: Deep throat.
GLENN: Hmm. What was that? Oh, that's right. That was the director of the FBI, right?
JASON: Which he we found out years.
Was it decades?
GLENN: Oh, decades. Yeah, decades later. Decades later.
JASON: Decades later. But then we were like, there's no way.
How is he getting all this information? How the heck? That was a big part of it. Who was your source.
Never would have believed in my wildest dreams that it was a direct threat of the FBI. Never. That was this -- will we, decades later, say how the heck did this guy get his information? We find out it was the director of the CIA.
GLENN: If it's true.
JASON: If it's true.
GLENN: Now, where do we go from here?
Where do we go from here? Because no western ally, is going to verify this.
JASON: No.
GLENN: Even if it is true, and they hate the fact that it is true, they know, if we say, you know what, I think it was the United States, this is an act of war.
JASON: Yeah.
GLENN: And Russia has the -- the righteous stance in the world. To take us down.
Or attempt to take us down. Take us to war.
This is an act of war.
So what -- what -- what does this mean? How do we ever find out anything?
JASON: Russia has actually responded. And they've said that because of these new air quote facts, that the White House needs to respond to this or to answer. Of course, the White House, and the State Department have all been asked, and they all categorically deny it. The article was so specific, to answer your question. In certain ways, in the time frame they pulled this off.
For instance, the article goes into, there was a big Naval exercise, that they used as cover, to send in these divers.
GLENN: And that exercise did happen.
JASON: That exercise did happen. He even puts a link into their specific excuse about using divers to -- to show off the capabilities of their mind-clearing capabilities.
GLENN: But it's -- it's -- I mean, you know -- even Satan uses some truth, and then mixes it with falsehood. So that doesn't prove anything.
JASON: Right. So there's that, which maybe they can, use some kind of -- maybe they're surveilling the areas. Maybe they can look at something. I don't know.
Then they go into the mind they use, to get around the Russian detection capabilities. They go into that. Then they go into -- this is going to seem weird.
How they were going to detonate, like 72 hours or 48 hours after this exercise.
And then all of a sudden, they had this afterthought of, oh.
Maybe that seems kind of suspicious.
Maybe we shouldn't just have it on a timed detonation, a couple of days after the exercise.
GLENN: That doesn't.
JASON: That doesn't jibe with me.
So then they're like, let's send in this buoy, that has this high-tech ping, that will drop it from a plane, and then it will set off these charges. That also seems odd to me. That also seems something that the Russians can verify.
So I wouldn't be surprised right now, if there are Russian surveillance planes, flying over the area. Gathering Intel. Possibly, you know, attempting to go and look. Take a second look.
I don't -- I definitely don't think we've heard the last of this. I'm sure they'll try to verify it, if they can. But they're Russian, really. Even if they don't, they probably will say, yeah. They did it anyway. Right?
GLENN: I mean, I would. I would.
JASON: I would too.
GLENN: And, quite honestly, I'm not sure we didn't do it.
JASON: I'm not either. Which is wild, I would have never thought of this.
GLENN: Twenty years ago, I would have said, absolutely not. No way. No way. But if you hit me today, if 9/11 happened, and we heard, you know, Bush and Clinton. And we had exactly what happened with Sandy Berger. At the National Archives, where he's smuggling documents out, about Bush and Clinton, and anything related to Osama Bin Laden, prior to the bombing -- I -- I would deeply question our government.
We have come a long way, on finding out how bad, our government can be and has been in the past.
The problem with this is, you are going to pay the price.
If this happened, or if Russia decides to go with it. You, your son, your daughter. You will pay the price.
And that's what's so infuriating. Because if it is true, the American people should demand, that these people, whoever was involved. Whoever had this decision, is in prison. And punished. And, you know what, I would be fine. I don't care who it is.
Let me just say this. And it wasn't. Couldn't have been. Because he wasn't in office.
But to show you how passionate. Even if it was the former president. Go ahead. Send him over to Russia.
Let him face a trial over in Russia.
I'm sorry. But you do something like this. And you don't inform Congress, I mean, this is -- this is the tweet from Mike Lee last night.
I'm troubled that I can't immediately rule this suggestion, that the US blew up the Nord Stream out.
He can't rule it out.
I checked with a bunch of Senate colleagues. Among those I asked, none were ever briefed on this.
If it turns out to be true, we've got a huge problem.
Yeah. We do. Yeah, we do.
