The Serious Side - part 6
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Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sun 29 Apr 2018, 18:16
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5671079/Trump-threatens-government-shutdown-September-no-funding-wall.html
[size=34]'We will close down the country': Trump threatens government shutdown in September if Congress does not provide funding for his wall[/size]
By REUTERS
PUBLISHED: 09:32 EDT, 29 April 2018 | UPDATED: 12:20 EDT, 29 April 2018
President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to shut down the federal government in September if Congress did not provide more funding to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
‘That wall has started, we have 1.6billion (dollars),’ Trump said at a campaign rally in Washington, Michigan.
‘We come up again on September 28th and if we don’t get border security we will have no choice, we will close down the country because we need border security.’
Trump made a similar threat in March to push for changes in immigration law that he says would prevent criminals from entering the country.
The government briefly shut down in January over immigration.
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President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to shut down the federal government in September if Congress did not provide more funding to build a wall on the border with Mexico
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Relatives separated by the border wall betweeen Mexico and the United States meet, during the 'Keep our dream alive' event, in Ciudad Juarez on December 10, 2017
A $1.3trillion spending bill, which Trump signed last month, will keep the government funded through the end of September.
A government shutdown ahead of the November mid-elections is unlikely to be supported by his fellow Republicans who are keen to keep control of the US Congress.
Trump cited the hundreds of Central American migrants traveling in a ‘caravan’ as one of the reasons for strong border security.
‘Watch the caravan, watch how sad and terrible it is, including for those people and the crime that they inflict on themselves and that others inflict on them,’ said Trump.
‘It’s a horrible dangerous journey for them and they come up because they know once they can get here they can walk right into our country.’
Migrants, who include women and children, have said they fled their homes in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras because of death threats from gangs, the murder of family members or political persecution.
[size=34]'We will close down the country': Trump threatens government shutdown in September if Congress does not provide funding for his wall[/size]
- President Donald Trump threatened a federal government shut down
- Trump wants Congress to fund his promised wall along border with Mexico
- Government must approve new spending measure by September 28 deadline
By REUTERS
PUBLISHED: 09:32 EDT, 29 April 2018 | UPDATED: 12:20 EDT, 29 April 2018
President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to shut down the federal government in September if Congress did not provide more funding to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
‘That wall has started, we have 1.6billion (dollars),’ Trump said at a campaign rally in Washington, Michigan.
‘We come up again on September 28th and if we don’t get border security we will have no choice, we will close down the country because we need border security.’
Trump made a similar threat in March to push for changes in immigration law that he says would prevent criminals from entering the country.
The government briefly shut down in January over immigration.
+2
President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to shut down the federal government in September if Congress did not provide more funding to build a wall on the border with Mexico
+2
Relatives separated by the border wall betweeen Mexico and the United States meet, during the 'Keep our dream alive' event, in Ciudad Juarez on December 10, 2017
A $1.3trillion spending bill, which Trump signed last month, will keep the government funded through the end of September.
A government shutdown ahead of the November mid-elections is unlikely to be supported by his fellow Republicans who are keen to keep control of the US Congress.
Trump cited the hundreds of Central American migrants traveling in a ‘caravan’ as one of the reasons for strong border security.
‘Watch the caravan, watch how sad and terrible it is, including for those people and the crime that they inflict on themselves and that others inflict on them,’ said Trump.
‘It’s a horrible dangerous journey for them and they come up because they know once they can get here they can walk right into our country.’
Migrants, who include women and children, have said they fled their homes in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras because of death threats from gangs, the murder of family members or political persecution.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sun 29 Apr 2018, 18:19
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5670463/Trump-sharpens-aim-Democrats-facing-election.html
[size=34]'It's your fault!' Trump tells fans at Michigan rally that they're responsible for high taxes and lax border security because they keep re-electing Democratic senator 'again and again and again'[/size]
By ASSOCIATED PRESS and DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 01:53 EDT, 29 April 2018 | UPDATED: 11:23 EDT, 29 April 2018
President Donald Trump took aim at familiar political targets and added a few fresh ones during a campaign-style rally in Michigan, an Upper Midwest state so crucial in sending him to the White House.
Trump has been urging voters to support Republicans for Congress as a way of advancing his agenda. In the Saturday night in Washington Township, he repeatedly cited to Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan as one of the Democrats who needed to be voted out.
After saying Stabenow was standing in the way of protecting U.S. borders and had voted against tax cuts, Trump said: 'And you people just keep putting her back again and again and again! It's your fault!'
Scroll down for video
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'It's your fault!' President Donald Trump told fans at a Michigan rally on Saturday night that they're to blame if the U.S. border remains porous and his tax cuts evaporate, because they have a senator from the Democratic Party
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Trump said he's been warning voters to elect more Republicans in order to solidify his legislative legacy (and avoid impeachment)
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Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow faces a re-election battle this year as she tries to win a fourth 6-year Senate term
Earlier Saturday, Trump tweeted criticism of Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana over his role in the failed nomination of White House doctor Ronny Jackson to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, calling for Tester to resign or at least not be re-elected this fall.
In Michigan, Trump railed against the allegations Tester aired against Jackson and suggested that he could take a similar tack against the senator.
'I know things about Tester that I could say, too. And if I said them, he'd never be elected again,' Trump said without elaborating.
As he has at similar events, Trump promoted top agenda items that energize conservatives: appointing conservative judges, building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, ending 'sanctuary cities' and protecting tax cuts approved by the Republican-led Congress. He also took credit for the warming relations between North and South Korea, telling his audience 'we'll see how it goes.'
'Great evening last night,' the president tweeted early Sunday. 'The enthusiasm, knowledge and love in that room was unreal. To the many thousands of people who couldn't get in, I cherish you. ... and will be back!'
Trump chose a friendly venue for his rally, which not coincidentally came the same night as the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner. He skipped the dinner last year.
Share
The president praised his fans after the rally was over and he was back at the White House
'While Washington, Michigan, was a big success, Washington, D.C., just didn't work. Everyone is talking about the fact that the White House Correspondents Dinner was a very big, boring bust...the so-called comedian really 'bombed,'' Trump asserted on Twitter.
That barb was directed at Michelle Wolf, who provided the after-dinner entertainment for the White House press corps and their guests, and whose performance was surprisingly racy. After one crass joke drew groans from the audience, Wolf laughed and said, 'Yeah, shoulda done more research before you got me to do this.'
Before the Michigan rally, Trump had said in a fundraising pitch that he had come up with something better than being stuck in a room 'with a bunch of fake news liberals who hate me.' He said he would rather spend the evening 'with my favorite deplorables.'
During the 2016 campaign, Clinton drew laughs when she told supporters at a private fundraiser that half of Trump supporters could be lumped into a 'basket of deplorables' - denouncing them as 'racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it.'
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Michael Sakowski, from left, Matthew Sakowski, Dylan King, Evan Sakowski and Bryce King spell out the letters 'TRUMP' and each dons a 'Make America Great Again' cap, as they wait with other Trump supporters for last night's rally in Washington Township, Michigan
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'A vote for a Democrat in November is a vote for open borders and crime ... [and] much higher taxes,' Trump claimed Saturday night
Clinton later did a partial rollback, said she had been 'grossly generalistic' and regretted saying the label fit 'half' of Trump's supporters. But she didn't back down from the general sentiment.
Trump soon had the video running in his campaign ads, and his supporters wore the 'deplorable' label as a badge of honor.
Trump, in his remarks at the rally, repeatedly weaved back into immigration and his support for a border wall. He accused Democrats of not wanting to secure the border and keep violent criminals out of the country.
'Debbie Stabenow is one of the leaders for weak borders and letting people in. I don't know how she gets away with it,' Trump said. 'A vote for a Democrat in November is a vote for open borders and crime. It's very simple. It's also a vote for much higher taxes.'
[size=34]'It's your fault!' Trump tells fans at Michigan rally that they're responsible for high taxes and lax border security because they keep re-electing Democratic senator 'again and again and again'[/size]
- President held Michigan rally Saturday night instead of going to the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C.
- Told rally-goers that it's partially their fault if the U.S. border remains porous and his tax cuts evaporate, because they have a senator from the Democratic Party
- 'You people just keep putting her back again and again and again!' Trump said of Sen. Debbie Stabenow
- President also bashed Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, who torpedoed his pick for VA secretary based on information that proved false
By ASSOCIATED PRESS and DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 01:53 EDT, 29 April 2018 | UPDATED: 11:23 EDT, 29 April 2018
President Donald Trump took aim at familiar political targets and added a few fresh ones during a campaign-style rally in Michigan, an Upper Midwest state so crucial in sending him to the White House.
Trump has been urging voters to support Republicans for Congress as a way of advancing his agenda. In the Saturday night in Washington Township, he repeatedly cited to Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan as one of the Democrats who needed to be voted out.
After saying Stabenow was standing in the way of protecting U.S. borders and had voted against tax cuts, Trump said: 'And you people just keep putting her back again and again and again! It's your fault!'
Scroll down for video
+5
'It's your fault!' President Donald Trump told fans at a Michigan rally on Saturday night that they're to blame if the U.S. border remains porous and his tax cuts evaporate, because they have a senator from the Democratic Party
+5
Trump said he's been warning voters to elect more Republicans in order to solidify his legislative legacy (and avoid impeachment)
+5
Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow faces a re-election battle this year as she tries to win a fourth 6-year Senate term
Earlier Saturday, Trump tweeted criticism of Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana over his role in the failed nomination of White House doctor Ronny Jackson to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, calling for Tester to resign or at least not be re-elected this fall.
In Michigan, Trump railed against the allegations Tester aired against Jackson and suggested that he could take a similar tack against the senator.
'I know things about Tester that I could say, too. And if I said them, he'd never be elected again,' Trump said without elaborating.
As he has at similar events, Trump promoted top agenda items that energize conservatives: appointing conservative judges, building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, ending 'sanctuary cities' and protecting tax cuts approved by the Republican-led Congress. He also took credit for the warming relations between North and South Korea, telling his audience 'we'll see how it goes.'
'Great evening last night,' the president tweeted early Sunday. 'The enthusiasm, knowledge and love in that room was unreal. To the many thousands of people who couldn't get in, I cherish you. ... and will be back!'
Trump chose a friendly venue for his rally, which not coincidentally came the same night as the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner. He skipped the dinner last year.
- ARE THIS ARTICLE
Share
The president praised his fans after the rally was over and he was back at the White House
'While Washington, Michigan, was a big success, Washington, D.C., just didn't work. Everyone is talking about the fact that the White House Correspondents Dinner was a very big, boring bust...the so-called comedian really 'bombed,'' Trump asserted on Twitter.
That barb was directed at Michelle Wolf, who provided the after-dinner entertainment for the White House press corps and their guests, and whose performance was surprisingly racy. After one crass joke drew groans from the audience, Wolf laughed and said, 'Yeah, shoulda done more research before you got me to do this.'
Before the Michigan rally, Trump had said in a fundraising pitch that he had come up with something better than being stuck in a room 'with a bunch of fake news liberals who hate me.' He said he would rather spend the evening 'with my favorite deplorables.'
During the 2016 campaign, Clinton drew laughs when she told supporters at a private fundraiser that half of Trump supporters could be lumped into a 'basket of deplorables' - denouncing them as 'racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, you name it.'
+5
Michael Sakowski, from left, Matthew Sakowski, Dylan King, Evan Sakowski and Bryce King spell out the letters 'TRUMP' and each dons a 'Make America Great Again' cap, as they wait with other Trump supporters for last night's rally in Washington Township, Michigan
+5
'A vote for a Democrat in November is a vote for open borders and crime ... [and] much higher taxes,' Trump claimed Saturday night
Clinton later did a partial rollback, said she had been 'grossly generalistic' and regretted saying the label fit 'half' of Trump's supporters. But she didn't back down from the general sentiment.
Trump soon had the video running in his campaign ads, and his supporters wore the 'deplorable' label as a badge of honor.
Trump, in his remarks at the rally, repeatedly weaved back into immigration and his support for a border wall. He accused Democrats of not wanting to secure the border and keep violent criminals out of the country.
'Debbie Stabenow is one of the leaders for weak borders and letting people in. I don't know how she gets away with it,' Trump said. 'A vote for a Democrat in November is a vote for open borders and crime. It's very simple. It's also a vote for much higher taxes.'
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Mon 30 Apr 2018, 02:44
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5672171/Thousands-Germans-wear-kippas-support-Jews-recent-spate-hate-crimes-country.html
[size=34]Thousands of Germans wear kippahs in support of Jews after a recent spate of hate crimes plague the country[/size]
By CONNOR BOYD FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 18:44 EDT, 29 April 2018 | UPDATED: 18:44 EDT, 29 April 2018
Thousands of German's wearing Kippas rallied in support of Jews after a recent spate of hate crimes.
Some 2,000 demonstrators came together at the Berlin Wears Kippa event where Jews and non-Jews wore the traditional skullcap in a shared show of defiance.
Recent scandals - including a rap duo making light of Nazi death camps - have raised questions about the country's ability to protect its burgeoning Jewish community seven decades after the Holocaust.
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A demonstrator wears a kippa in the Mauerpark public park during the Berlin Wears Kippa event
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Some 2,000 Germans came together in support of Jews after a recent spate of hate crimes
In the latest ugly incident, a tiny Berlin rally against anti-Semitism with just three demonstrators was marred Wednesday when angry counter-protesters shouted 'terrorists', spat at them and snatched their Israeli flag, organisers said.
Police said the event in Neukoelln district, the heart of the capital's Muslim immigrant community, ended early after the trio were shouted down by 'loud and emotional' opponents and feared for their safety.
Speaking at the Berlin Wears Kippa rally, Berlin's Jewish community chairman Gideon Joffe warned that the growing threat meant 'it's five minutes to midnight', adding 'we have to be careful'.
The head of the country's Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, demanded '100 per cent respect' for Jews as well as for Muslims, homosexuals and people of 'all skin colours'.
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Recent scandals - including a rap duo making light of Nazi death camps - have raised questions about the country's ability to protect its burgeoning Jewish community seven decades after the Holocaust
+9
A family get a picture wearing the traditional caps as they rally in support of the Jewish community
The previous day, Mr Schuster warned Jews who wear the kippa or the Star of David could be courting danger on German streets.
The remarks sparked outrage, with the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Centre accusing authorities of disappointing Jews' faith in German democracy.
Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced the emergence of 'another form of anti-Semitism', beyond that of right-wing extremist groups, from Muslim refugees, in an interview with Israeli television.
+9
The head of the country's Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster warned Jews who wear the kippa or the Star of David could be courting danger on German streets
+9
Mr Schuster's comments sparked outrage, with some accusing him of disappointing Jews' faith in German democracy
She reaffirmed the security of Jews and of the state of Israel was a central concern for Germany because of its 'eternal responsibility' for the Holocaust.
Last week Germans were stunned after a 19-year-old Syrian refugee attacked two young men wearing kippas with his belt in a trendy district of the capital, shouting 'yahudi' - Jew in Arabic - and lashing out at his victim with a belt.
A video of the assault, filmed by one of the Israeli victims, went viral on social media and sparked widespread revulsion.
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The traditional skullcaps were handed out by volunteers in the park in Berlin
Ahead of the Berlin rally, the chairman of the Turkish community in Germany, Gokay Sofuoglu, also called for the kippa to be worn, telling the Berliner Zeitung 'if you want to stop Islamophobia, then you also can't tolerate anti-Semitism'.
Yair Lapid, the leader of the centrist Israeli political party Yesh Atid, said Jews from Germany should go out 'with a kippa and a big baton in their hands and protect themselves'.
'We thought the days of anxiety for the Jews in Germany were over. That is clearly not the case,' he told German news agency DPA in Berlin.
Demonstrations in support of Jews with hundreds of people were also held in the cities of Cologne, Potsdam, Magdeburg and Erfurt, where politicians, Christian and Jewish leaders wore kippas and marched to the main local synagogue.
+9
High-profile incidents in recent months have stoked fears of a possible resurgence of anti-Semitism
Newspapers offered paper cutouts of skullcaps for readers to wear.
The issue of anti-Semitism is particularly fraught in Germany, which has gone to great lengths to atone for its Nazi past and whose political class takes deep pride in the growth of the now 200,000-strong Jewish community.
However, the high-profile incidents in recent months have stoked fears of a possible resurgence of anti-Semitism.
+9
Speaking at the Berlin Wears Kippa rally, Berlin's Jewish community chairman Gideon Joffe warned that the growing threat meant 'it's five minutes to midnight', adding 'we have to be careful'
In March, the Central Council of Jews urged schools to keep track of religious bullying following reports that a young Jewish girl was allegedly harassed and threatened by Muslim fellow pupils at a Berlin primary school.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party, which captured nearly 13 per cent of the vote in September's general election, has also not shied away from questioning Germany's cherished 'remembrance culture'.
Party member Bjoern Hoecke last year called Berlin's Holocaust memorial a 'monument of shame' and said Germany should take a '180 degree' turn away from its guilt over World War II crimes.
ADVERTISEMENT
[size=34]Thousands of Germans wear kippahs in support of Jews after a recent spate of hate crimes plague the country[/size]
- Some 2,000 demonstrators rallied for Jews at the Berlin Wears Kippa event
- Hates crimes have been bubbling under surface in the country in recent months
- Rap duo made light of Nazi death camps while others spat at pro Jew protesters
By CONNOR BOYD FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 18:44 EDT, 29 April 2018 | UPDATED: 18:44 EDT, 29 April 2018
Thousands of German's wearing Kippas rallied in support of Jews after a recent spate of hate crimes.
Some 2,000 demonstrators came together at the Berlin Wears Kippa event where Jews and non-Jews wore the traditional skullcap in a shared show of defiance.
Recent scandals - including a rap duo making light of Nazi death camps - have raised questions about the country's ability to protect its burgeoning Jewish community seven decades after the Holocaust.
+9
A demonstrator wears a kippa in the Mauerpark public park during the Berlin Wears Kippa event
+9
Some 2,000 Germans came together in support of Jews after a recent spate of hate crimes
In the latest ugly incident, a tiny Berlin rally against anti-Semitism with just three demonstrators was marred Wednesday when angry counter-protesters shouted 'terrorists', spat at them and snatched their Israeli flag, organisers said.
Police said the event in Neukoelln district, the heart of the capital's Muslim immigrant community, ended early after the trio were shouted down by 'loud and emotional' opponents and feared for their safety.
Speaking at the Berlin Wears Kippa rally, Berlin's Jewish community chairman Gideon Joffe warned that the growing threat meant 'it's five minutes to midnight', adding 'we have to be careful'.
The head of the country's Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, demanded '100 per cent respect' for Jews as well as for Muslims, homosexuals and people of 'all skin colours'.
+9
Recent scandals - including a rap duo making light of Nazi death camps - have raised questions about the country's ability to protect its burgeoning Jewish community seven decades after the Holocaust
+9
A family get a picture wearing the traditional caps as they rally in support of the Jewish community
The previous day, Mr Schuster warned Jews who wear the kippa or the Star of David could be courting danger on German streets.
The remarks sparked outrage, with the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Centre accusing authorities of disappointing Jews' faith in German democracy.
Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced the emergence of 'another form of anti-Semitism', beyond that of right-wing extremist groups, from Muslim refugees, in an interview with Israeli television.
+9
The head of the country's Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster warned Jews who wear the kippa or the Star of David could be courting danger on German streets
+9
Mr Schuster's comments sparked outrage, with some accusing him of disappointing Jews' faith in German democracy
She reaffirmed the security of Jews and of the state of Israel was a central concern for Germany because of its 'eternal responsibility' for the Holocaust.
Last week Germans were stunned after a 19-year-old Syrian refugee attacked two young men wearing kippas with his belt in a trendy district of the capital, shouting 'yahudi' - Jew in Arabic - and lashing out at his victim with a belt.
A video of the assault, filmed by one of the Israeli victims, went viral on social media and sparked widespread revulsion.
+9
The traditional skullcaps were handed out by volunteers in the park in Berlin
Ahead of the Berlin rally, the chairman of the Turkish community in Germany, Gokay Sofuoglu, also called for the kippa to be worn, telling the Berliner Zeitung 'if you want to stop Islamophobia, then you also can't tolerate anti-Semitism'.
Yair Lapid, the leader of the centrist Israeli political party Yesh Atid, said Jews from Germany should go out 'with a kippa and a big baton in their hands and protect themselves'.
'We thought the days of anxiety for the Jews in Germany were over. That is clearly not the case,' he told German news agency DPA in Berlin.
Demonstrations in support of Jews with hundreds of people were also held in the cities of Cologne, Potsdam, Magdeburg and Erfurt, where politicians, Christian and Jewish leaders wore kippas and marched to the main local synagogue.
+9
High-profile incidents in recent months have stoked fears of a possible resurgence of anti-Semitism
Newspapers offered paper cutouts of skullcaps for readers to wear.
The issue of anti-Semitism is particularly fraught in Germany, which has gone to great lengths to atone for its Nazi past and whose political class takes deep pride in the growth of the now 200,000-strong Jewish community.
However, the high-profile incidents in recent months have stoked fears of a possible resurgence of anti-Semitism.
+9
Speaking at the Berlin Wears Kippa rally, Berlin's Jewish community chairman Gideon Joffe warned that the growing threat meant 'it's five minutes to midnight', adding 'we have to be careful'
In March, the Central Council of Jews urged schools to keep track of religious bullying following reports that a young Jewish girl was allegedly harassed and threatened by Muslim fellow pupils at a Berlin primary school.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party, which captured nearly 13 per cent of the vote in September's general election, has also not shied away from questioning Germany's cherished 'remembrance culture'.
Party member Bjoern Hoecke last year called Berlin's Holocaust memorial a 'monument of shame' and said Germany should take a '180 degree' turn away from its guilt over World War II crimes.
ADVERTISEMENT
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by carolhathaway Mon 30 Apr 2018, 09:35
I had thought about writing here about what's going on in Germany, but wasn't sure since everybody was concentrating on US issues.
We've always had anti-Semitic speeches and actions, and they didn't disappear after WW II. My father (born in 1937) always made very critical comments about Jews and let's face it: His father was a member of the SS, his godfather was a member of Hitler's Lifeguard Regiment. His teachers had either served in WW II or were too old, but since there had been a lot of prejudices against jews before, this didn't help much. So my father was always taught to - at least be critical - against Jews. We had long discussions about that when I grew older and realized how much this had influenced ne as well. I remember that, when I was 15, we had a teacher with a Jewish name, and one of my classmates tried to provoke her by saying anti-Semitic slogans which caused a lot of trouble, including class-conferences and suspensions of this student. But of course there was a lot of discussions and talks during lessons to sensitize us about it. We had really interesting conversations, and when I tried to talk to my parents about it, my father tried to relativize the student's actions by saying the school shouldn't make a fuzz about it and shouldn't overrate it etc. I absolutely didn't agree with him and we had lots of talks and verbal fights. We still have very controversial political opinions, but have learned to accept each other's opinion. And I still realize that I sometimes have to fight my own prejudices... Of course I live in a small village near a small town, and I guess that these problems escalate in big cities with large communities of different religions.
Of course the fact that we've got hundred thousands of refugees from countries which see Israel as their enimies, causes problems as well. They have to learn to accept that Jews have the same rights as everybody else. But I'd like to point out that it's not just muslims who haveproblems in accepting this fact but Germans as well. And when I sometimes read comments in international newspapers about George Soros, this doesn't seem to be just a German problem...
There have been pogroms for centuries, Jews have been out of our society and were killed due to their belief for such a long time that they really have a hard stand. My best friend's daughter has a Jewish boyfriend who grew up in a town with about 40,000 people, and he said that he never faced any hate. His mother works as a doctor with her own practice, his father is a scientiest and head of a nearby university and college who came from Israel decades ago because he didn't want to serve in the army. Their best friends are pharmacists who came from Palestine decades ago, and they are muslims. So there are lots of examples that muslims and Jews can be friends, and so should every other religion be able to live in a peaceful coexistence - if only politicians would stop interfering...
We've always had anti-Semitic speeches and actions, and they didn't disappear after WW II. My father (born in 1937) always made very critical comments about Jews and let's face it: His father was a member of the SS, his godfather was a member of Hitler's Lifeguard Regiment. His teachers had either served in WW II or were too old, but since there had been a lot of prejudices against jews before, this didn't help much. So my father was always taught to - at least be critical - against Jews. We had long discussions about that when I grew older and realized how much this had influenced ne as well. I remember that, when I was 15, we had a teacher with a Jewish name, and one of my classmates tried to provoke her by saying anti-Semitic slogans which caused a lot of trouble, including class-conferences and suspensions of this student. But of course there was a lot of discussions and talks during lessons to sensitize us about it. We had really interesting conversations, and when I tried to talk to my parents about it, my father tried to relativize the student's actions by saying the school shouldn't make a fuzz about it and shouldn't overrate it etc. I absolutely didn't agree with him and we had lots of talks and verbal fights. We still have very controversial political opinions, but have learned to accept each other's opinion. And I still realize that I sometimes have to fight my own prejudices... Of course I live in a small village near a small town, and I guess that these problems escalate in big cities with large communities of different religions.
Of course the fact that we've got hundred thousands of refugees from countries which see Israel as their enimies, causes problems as well. They have to learn to accept that Jews have the same rights as everybody else. But I'd like to point out that it's not just muslims who haveproblems in accepting this fact but Germans as well. And when I sometimes read comments in international newspapers about George Soros, this doesn't seem to be just a German problem...
There have been pogroms for centuries, Jews have been out of our society and were killed due to their belief for such a long time that they really have a hard stand. My best friend's daughter has a Jewish boyfriend who grew up in a town with about 40,000 people, and he said that he never faced any hate. His mother works as a doctor with her own practice, his father is a scientiest and head of a nearby university and college who came from Israel decades ago because he didn't want to serve in the army. Their best friends are pharmacists who came from Palestine decades ago, and they are muslims. So there are lots of examples that muslims and Jews can be friends, and so should every other religion be able to live in a peaceful coexistence - if only politicians would stop interfering...
carolhathaway- Achieving total Clooney-dom
- Posts : 2919
Join date : 2015-03-24
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Mon 30 Apr 2018, 13:27
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5673717/Trump-win-Nobel-Peace-Prize-says-South-Korean-president-Moon-Jae-in.html
[size=34]Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize, says South Korean President Moon for helping to broker an end to hostilities with Kim Jong-un and a 'complete denuclearization'[/size]
By REUTERS
PUBLISHED: 06:22 EDT, 30 April 2018 | UPDATED: 07:57 EDT, 30 April 2018
Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the standoff with North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme, South Korea's president has said.
'President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize. What we need is only peace,' President Moon Jae-in told a meeting of senior secretaries, according to a presidential Blue House official who briefed media.
Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday pledged to end hostilities between the two countries and work towards the 'complete denuclearization' of the Korean peninsula in the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade.
Meanwhile, Trump is preparing for his own summit with Kim, which he said would take place in the next three to four weeks.
Scroll down for video
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in said U.S. President Donald Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the standoff with North Korea
That upcoming meeting was the main subject of a private walk and chat that Kim and Moon had during their meeting at the border, the official said.
In January, Moon said Trump 'deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks. It could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure'.
[size]
Moon's Nobel Prize comment came in response to a congratulatory message from Lee Hee-ho, the widow of late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.
She said Moon deserved to win the prize in recognition of his efforts, the Blue House official said. Moon responded by saying Trump should get it.
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in is applauded by his senior secretaries during a meeting with them at the presidential office in Seoul on Monday
Kim Dae-jung championed the so-called Sunshine policy of engagement with North Korea, and won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize after engineering the first inter-Korean summit with former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
During Monday's meeting, Moon called for a joint study with the North of economic projects that could be resumed without violating international sanctions imposed on North Korea for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
'The study is to set in motion the programmes that are not subject to sanctions, while exploring what the two Koreas could do when the sanctions are lifted in the future,' the official quoted Moon as saying.
The Trump administration has led a global effort to impose ever stricter sanctions on North Korea.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing a joint statement at the border village of Panmunjom on Friday
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that Trump would maintain a 'pressure campaign' of harsh sanctions on impoverished North Korea until Kim scraps his nuclear weapon programme.
Late Saturday, Trump told Moon in a phone call that he was pleased the leaders of the two Koreas reaffirmed the goal of complete denuclearization during their summit, South Korean officials said on Sunday.
The White House said Trump and Moon had 'emphasised that a peaceful and prosperous future for North Korea is contingent upon its complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization'.
A senior adviser to Moon told Reuters last week that the South Korean government had a 'comprehensive roadmap' that it was sharing with the United States ahead of Trump's meeting with Kim.[/size]
[size=34]Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize, says South Korean President Moon for helping to broker an end to hostilities with Kim Jong-un and a 'complete denuclearization'[/size]
- Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to end hostilities on Friday
- They vowed to work towards 'complete denuclearization' of Korean peninsula
- In a meeting, Moon said Trump deserves the prize for his efforts to end standoff
- Trump is preparing for his own summit with Kim in the next three to four weeks
By REUTERS
PUBLISHED: 06:22 EDT, 30 April 2018 | UPDATED: 07:57 EDT, 30 April 2018
Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the standoff with North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme, South Korea's president has said.
'President Trump should win the Nobel Peace Prize. What we need is only peace,' President Moon Jae-in told a meeting of senior secretaries, according to a presidential Blue House official who briefed media.
Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday pledged to end hostilities between the two countries and work towards the 'complete denuclearization' of the Korean peninsula in the first inter-Korean summit in more than a decade.
Meanwhile, Trump is preparing for his own summit with Kim, which he said would take place in the next three to four weeks.
Scroll down for video
+3
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said U.S. President Donald Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the standoff with North Korea
That upcoming meeting was the main subject of a private walk and chat that Kim and Moon had during their meeting at the border, the official said.
In January, Moon said Trump 'deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks. It could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure'.
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ShareMoon's Nobel Prize comment came in response to a congratulatory message from Lee Hee-ho, the widow of late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.
She said Moon deserved to win the prize in recognition of his efforts, the Blue House official said. Moon responded by saying Trump should get it.
+3
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is applauded by his senior secretaries during a meeting with them at the presidential office in Seoul on Monday
Kim Dae-jung championed the so-called Sunshine policy of engagement with North Korea, and won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize after engineering the first inter-Korean summit with former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
During Monday's meeting, Moon called for a joint study with the North of economic projects that could be resumed without violating international sanctions imposed on North Korea for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
'The study is to set in motion the programmes that are not subject to sanctions, while exploring what the two Koreas could do when the sanctions are lifted in the future,' the official quoted Moon as saying.
The Trump administration has led a global effort to impose ever stricter sanctions on North Korea.
+3
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing a joint statement at the border village of Panmunjom on Friday
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[size]U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that Trump would maintain a 'pressure campaign' of harsh sanctions on impoverished North Korea until Kim scraps his nuclear weapon programme.
Late Saturday, Trump told Moon in a phone call that he was pleased the leaders of the two Koreas reaffirmed the goal of complete denuclearization during their summit, South Korean officials said on Sunday.
The White House said Trump and Moon had 'emphasised that a peaceful and prosperous future for North Korea is contingent upon its complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization'.
A senior adviser to Moon told Reuters last week that the South Korean government had a 'comprehensive roadmap' that it was sharing with the United States ahead of Trump's meeting with Kim.[/size]
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by LizzyNY Mon 30 Apr 2018, 14:05
Carolhathaway - First, let me say that Germany is not the only country where anti-semitism is on the rise. It seems to happen whenever and wherever times are unsettled. Just because the pogroms have ended doesn't mean the feelings behind them have gone away. They get passed down from one generation to the next. Not everyone is as enlightened as you are, but Germany seems to stand alone in trying to deal with the problem and these "kippah" demonstrations are admirable. They remind me of Danish people all wearing the Star of David during the war.
I believe Poland just passed a law that you can't say they did anything wrong during WWII! Their huge Jewish population disappeared. How did that happen? Just because we didn't have pogroms in the US doesn't mean that anti-semitism doesn't exist here. Two religious Jewish men were attacked in NYC just last week.
I'm not sure living in a small town or big city has much to do with it. Actually, a big city is like a collection of small towns. If you spend most of your time in your own neighborhood you're unlikely to run into people who are so different from you that they see you as an "enemy". On the other hand, if you live in a small town your differences are more obvious, so I guess there are pros and cons for each.
The Israeli/Arab situation is spilling over into the rest of the world now that so many Muslims are fleeing their own countries and bringing their prejudices with them. It's interesting that they want us to know that not all Muslims are terrorists, but many of them are unwilling to extend the same consideration to Jews. Not all Jews are Israelis, and not all Israelis are anti-Muslim.
If we'd all try listening and learning for a minute we might find that we have a lot in common. If the politicians would just shut up... it's embarrassing having to apologize for Trump all the time, but he keeps fanning the flames of unrest. He won't speak out against anti-semitism until someone calls Ivanka a dirty Jew or throws a rock at his Jewish grandchildren.
I believe Poland just passed a law that you can't say they did anything wrong during WWII! Their huge Jewish population disappeared. How did that happen? Just because we didn't have pogroms in the US doesn't mean that anti-semitism doesn't exist here. Two religious Jewish men were attacked in NYC just last week.
I'm not sure living in a small town or big city has much to do with it. Actually, a big city is like a collection of small towns. If you spend most of your time in your own neighborhood you're unlikely to run into people who are so different from you that they see you as an "enemy". On the other hand, if you live in a small town your differences are more obvious, so I guess there are pros and cons for each.
The Israeli/Arab situation is spilling over into the rest of the world now that so many Muslims are fleeing their own countries and bringing their prejudices with them. It's interesting that they want us to know that not all Muslims are terrorists, but many of them are unwilling to extend the same consideration to Jews. Not all Jews are Israelis, and not all Israelis are anti-Muslim.
If we'd all try listening and learning for a minute we might find that we have a lot in common. If the politicians would just shut up... it's embarrassing having to apologize for Trump all the time, but he keeps fanning the flames of unrest. He won't speak out against anti-semitism until someone calls Ivanka a dirty Jew or throws a rock at his Jewish grandchildren.
LizzyNY- Casamigos with Mr Clooney
- Posts : 8167
Join date : 2013-08-28
Location : NY, USA
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Tue 01 May 2018, 11:11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5676495/Women-like-watch-women-attacked-says-Germaine-Greer.html
[size=34]Women like to watch other women being attacked, says Germaine Greer: Feminist author claims rise in sexual violence on TV is due to female viewers enjoying their own victimisation[/size]
By GEORGE ODLING FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 20:38 EDT, 30 April 2018 | UPDATED: 03:32 EDT, 1 May 2018
The rise in sexual violence and rape on television is because of female viewers’ fascination with the victimisation of women, according to Germaine Greer.
The feminist author, 79, said crime dramas that receive a backlash for gratuitous portrayals of violence against women are only trying to satisfy audience desires, rather than objectification by men.
‘Female victimisation sells. What should disturb us is that it sells to women,’ Miss Greer writes in Radio Times.
The comments follow criticism of sexual violence in big budget television dramas such as BBC series Luther and The Fall, and ITV thriller Paranoid.
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The rise in sexual violence and rape on television is because of female viewers’ fascination with the victimisation of women, according to Germaine Greer
The final series of acclaimed Scandinavian crime drama The Bridge begins on BBC Two later this month, opening with the discovery of a woman’s body buried up to the neck. But producers do not deserve accusations they are exploiting violence toward women as a plot device though, Miss Greer claimed, as women make up between 60 and 80 per cent of crime fiction readers.
‘Who is watching and reading the proliferating imagery of female victimhood? Women, that’s who,’ she said.
‘The endless array of female cadavers laid out on slabs and dragged out of the undergrowth in crime drama on TV is designed to reel in a mainly female audience.’
Miss Greer, who was one of the major voices of the second-wave feminist movement, also suggested that large numbers of female viewers fantasised about sexual assault.
Citing a 2008 study by US academics which found 32 per cent of women had imagined being raped by a man and 52 per cent had done the same about some form of forced sex, she said: ‘The fantasy is commoner than these figures suggest.
‘The man who groans and clenches his teeth as he struggles to resist the heroine’s fatal charms has been a staple of chick-lit ever since Jane Eyre.
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The feminist author, 79, said crime dramas that receive a backlash for gratuitous portrayals of violence against women are only trying to satisfy audience desires, rather than objectification
‘The delusion that rape is the result of overwhelming sexual desire is a female delusion.’ There is some evidence to back up her claims that women are drawn to tales of murder and sexual violence – a 2010 study from the University of Illinois found that women were more likely to review true crime books on Amazon, and crime TV shows draw predominantly female audiences.
Miss Greer sparked controversy with comments critical of the #MeToo movement, and argues in her new book On Rape that there should be more awareness of the distinction between ‘sleaze and assault’. She told Radio Times: ‘Amid the media storm that is the #MeToo campaign, female celebrity after female celebrity has outed herself as a victim of sexual harassment.
‘All have been congratulated for their bravery, even when they took payments for signing non-disclosure agreements and kept shtoom until the statute of limitations was well past. Their likenesses are replicated endlessly.’
She added that male victims ‘refrain from exhibiting themselves,’ because women have no desire to see them.
Last month Miss Greer caused controversy by claiming that Meghan Markle’s marriage to Prince Harry would only be short-lived.
[size=34]Women like to watch other women being attacked, says Germaine Greer: Feminist author claims rise in sexual violence on TV is due to female viewers enjoying their own victimisation[/size]
- The feminist author, 79, said portrayals of violence were satisfying the audience
- She said women were watching and reading portrayals of female victimhood
- It follows criticism of sexual violence in TV dramas such as Luther and The Fall
By GEORGE ODLING FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 20:38 EDT, 30 April 2018 | UPDATED: 03:32 EDT, 1 May 2018
s
The rise in sexual violence and rape on television is because of female viewers’ fascination with the victimisation of women, according to Germaine Greer.
The feminist author, 79, said crime dramas that receive a backlash for gratuitous portrayals of violence against women are only trying to satisfy audience desires, rather than objectification by men.
‘Female victimisation sells. What should disturb us is that it sells to women,’ Miss Greer writes in Radio Times.
The comments follow criticism of sexual violence in big budget television dramas such as BBC series Luther and The Fall, and ITV thriller Paranoid.
+2
The rise in sexual violence and rape on television is because of female viewers’ fascination with the victimisation of women, according to Germaine Greer
The final series of acclaimed Scandinavian crime drama The Bridge begins on BBC Two later this month, opening with the discovery of a woman’s body buried up to the neck. But producers do not deserve accusations they are exploiting violence toward women as a plot device though, Miss Greer claimed, as women make up between 60 and 80 per cent of crime fiction readers.
‘Who is watching and reading the proliferating imagery of female victimhood? Women, that’s who,’ she said.
‘The endless array of female cadavers laid out on slabs and dragged out of the undergrowth in crime drama on TV is designed to reel in a mainly female audience.’
Miss Greer, who was one of the major voices of the second-wave feminist movement, also suggested that large numbers of female viewers fantasised about sexual assault.
Citing a 2008 study by US academics which found 32 per cent of women had imagined being raped by a man and 52 per cent had done the same about some form of forced sex, she said: ‘The fantasy is commoner than these figures suggest.
‘The man who groans and clenches his teeth as he struggles to resist the heroine’s fatal charms has been a staple of chick-lit ever since Jane Eyre.
+2
The feminist author, 79, said crime dramas that receive a backlash for gratuitous portrayals of violence against women are only trying to satisfy audience desires, rather than objectification
‘The delusion that rape is the result of overwhelming sexual desire is a female delusion.’ There is some evidence to back up her claims that women are drawn to tales of murder and sexual violence – a 2010 study from the University of Illinois found that women were more likely to review true crime books on Amazon, and crime TV shows draw predominantly female audiences.
Miss Greer sparked controversy with comments critical of the #MeToo movement, and argues in her new book On Rape that there should be more awareness of the distinction between ‘sleaze and assault’. She told Radio Times: ‘Amid the media storm that is the #MeToo campaign, female celebrity after female celebrity has outed herself as a victim of sexual harassment.
‘All have been congratulated for their bravery, even when they took payments for signing non-disclosure agreements and kept shtoom until the statute of limitations was well past. Their likenesses are replicated endlessly.’
She added that male victims ‘refrain from exhibiting themselves,’ because women have no desire to see them.
Last month Miss Greer caused controversy by claiming that Meghan Markle’s marriage to Prince Harry would only be short-lived.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by Way2Old4Dis Tue 01 May 2018, 13:17
Well... Granted there are women who like to watch violence toward women and/or fantasize about being victims of sexual violence. But the simplest argument against Greer's contention is that there certainly aren't enough of these women to be responsible for the popularity of this kind of entertainment.
The most compelling and probably accurate argument would be that she's out of her fucking mind.
The most compelling and probably accurate argument would be that she's out of her fucking mind.
Way2Old4Dis- Mastering the tao of Clooney
- Posts : 2742
Join date : 2012-06-25
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by LizzyNY Tue 01 May 2018, 13:54
I suppose there are enough neurotic women to make her point about rape fantasies somewhat valid, but the rest of it is just more outdated feminist junk.
There have always been more women than men. I m beginning to wonder if there is some kind of hardwired survival instinct that makes women want to see other women fail or look bad.
There have always been more women than men. I m beginning to wonder if there is some kind of hardwired survival instinct that makes women want to see other women fail or look bad.
LizzyNY- Casamigos with Mr Clooney
- Posts : 8167
Join date : 2013-08-28
Location : NY, USA
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Tue 01 May 2018, 18:49
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5677717/Colourful-parades-rallies-place-world-mark-Day.html
[size=38]Paris burns as rioters attack buildings, torch vehicles and loot McDonald's: French capital sees some of the worst May Day madness as protests erupt around the world[/size]
By GEORGE MARTIN and SARA MALM FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 06:58 EDT, 1 May 2018 | UPDATED: 13:25 EDT, 1 May 2018
Protest marches have been held around the world to mark International Workers' Day, and while some remained peaceful parades, others escalated into violent clashes and destruction.
In Paris, which often sees large demonstrations on May 1st, protesters attacked a McDonald's restaurant with petrol bombs and looted the fast food restaurant.
Pictures from inside the franchise shows protesters helping themselves to drinks, throwing food on the floor and breaking cash register.
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French fries: A McDonald's restaurant is hit with petrol bombs thrown by activists during the traditional May Day rally in the center of Paris, France
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Paris is burning: A car and a motorcycle have been set alight outside a Renault automobile garage during the protest
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Blasting off: A protester holds a strip of fireworks as they explode during a demonstration in Paris
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Street weapons: A masked protester throws a rock during clashes at the May Day labour union march in Paris, France
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Two sides: A riot policeman throws a teargas shell towards protesters outside a McDonald's in the French capital
Protesters clashed with police in the street and masked demonstrators were seen throwing rocks at riot police, who responded with tear gas.
Cars were also set alight in several locations, including outside a Renault garage in the French capital this afternoon.
Share
Images show more than a dozen protesters being detained in Istanbul on Tuesday after trying to march towards Istanbul's symbolic main square in defiance of a ban on protests there.
Police can be seen cracking down hard on defiant demonstrators - arresting them with brutal force as they protested against government reforms.
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Anger: Demonstrators wearing masks and eye-protection march while waving anarchist flags and flares in Paris
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Escape: Demonstrators flee from clouds of teargas during a May Day workers' rally in Paris today
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A man walks past a burning car outside several garages, which have been damaged by protesters in Paris
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Protesters react as teargas clouds and fire rages during a demonstration on the sidelines of a march for the annual May Day workers' rally in Paris
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Thick, dark smoke rises from a burning car during a demonstration on the side lines of the march for the annual May Day workers' rally, in Paris
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'Anti capitalist': A female protester helps herself to a drink as demonstrators loot a McDonald's restaurant
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Anarchy makes me hungry: A masked man holds a waffle cone as he looks onto broken monitors at the McDonald
Turkey declared Taksim Square off-limits to May Day celebrations citing security concerns. Roads leading to the square were blocked and police allowed only small groups of labour union representatives to lay wreaths at a monument there.
Still, a group of some 25 people chanting 'Taksim cannot be off limits on May 1' tried to push their way into the square but were rounded up by riot police.
Taksim holds a symbolic value for Turkey's labour movement. In 1977, 34 people were killed there during a May Day event when shots were fired into the crowd from a nearby building.
Meanwhile in the Philippines, around 5,000 people from various groups rallied near the presidential palace in Manila.
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A masked and hooded protester uses a hammer to smash a pavement during clashes with French CRS riot police at the May Day labour union rally in Paris
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Demonstrators pick up rocks and cobblestones and throw them towards police officers as teargas clouds rise during a demonstration in Paris
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Demonstrators in Istanbul were confronted by armed police as they tried to break into the banned protest zone at Taksim square
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According to reports more than a dozen protesters were arrested following violent clashes between civilians and armed cops
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Dramatic pictures emerging from the scene show defiant demonstrators struggling against policemen as they are hauled away
They were protesting over the failure of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to fulfil a major campaign promise to end contractualisation, the widespread practice of short-term employment.
The protesters also demanded that the government address issues including low wages, unemployment and trade union repression.
In South Korea, thousands of labour union members rallied in central Seoul for a higher minimum wage and other demands.
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In the Philippines workers took the opportunity of May Day to protest against controversial incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte
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Demonstrators in the Filipino capital Manila set fire to a range of elaborate effigies which they had constructed as part of their protest
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In South Korea, hordes of people gathered in the main square in Seoul to offer support to embattled trade unions in the country
They chanted slogans urging the government to implement a 10,000 won (£6.82) minimum wage and convert all non-regular employees to regular workers with equal pay and treatment.
The rally was organised by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. The police estimated the crowd at 10,000 people.
The union members also demanded that the government scrap the restructuring of the shipbuilding and car industries, and reform the huge conglomerates that dominate the South Korean economy.
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London involved: A march and rally marking International Workers Day is held in London's Trafalgar Square
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Protesters set off flares and held up banners as they marched through the British capital
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Men waving the flags of the Kudish YPG militia climbed one of the lions in Trafalgar Square
In Indonesia, about 10,000 workers from various labour groups rallied near the presidential palace in Jakarta to voice their demands.
Most of the workers came from Jakarta and nearby suburbs, but some travelled from West Java and Surabaya.
The protesters urged the government to avoid outsourcing, and to raise their wages. They also asked the government to stop foreign labourers from working in Indonesia, saying it decreases employment opportunities for local workers.
About 2,000 garment workers also gathered at a park in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, for a rally organised by a garment union coalition.
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In Jakarta, Indonesia, flag waving protestors graced the streets of the capital as part of their peaceful May Day celebrations
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Several thousands also turned out in Colombo, Sri Lanka in a show of force from several of the country's main worker's unions
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Cambodian workers also used International Workers' Day to protest about the lack of working-class rights in their country
The workers wanted to march to the National Assembly to urge politicians to help them address labour-related concerns, but the group was stopped by riot police.
Prime Minister Hun Sun spent May Day with some 5,000 garment workers just outside Phnom Penh. He thanked the workers by announcing that each of them will receive 50,000 riel (£9.18). With a general election coming up in July, Mr Hun Sen has for the past year been courting the large bloc of garment workers, whose unions have traditionally been strong supporters of the opposition.
Sri Lanka's government has postponed the rallies and processions that mark May Day because the week-long celebrations of the national festival of Vesak carry on until May 2 this year.
The government said in a statement that the decision was taken following requests by leading Buddhist monks, who are very influential in the majority Buddhist country. Vesak is also known as Buddha Purnima and marks the enlightenment of Lord Buddha.
The government has asked political parties and trade unions not to hold rallies on May 1. Some have said they will ignore the government directive and mark the day.
Usually, Sri Lankan political parties and trade unions celebrate International Workers' Day with colourful parades and giant rallies to showcase their political and organisational strength.
The government said it will mark International Workers' Day on May 7.
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Thousands of daring Russians staged a protest in the shadow of the Kremlin in a demonstration aimed at reinforcing the rights of workers
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The army of workers could be seen crossing the famous Bolshoy Bridge in Moscow's city centre as part of their demonstration
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The Russian May Day parade in St Petersburg was full of reminders of the country's past - including flags of past leaders like Lenin (pictured)
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Police detain a protester during the May Day rally in St Petersburg, Russia, who appears to be draped in a rainbow flag symbolising gay pride
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Members of the Russian Communist party and supporters took part in a huge march through the streets of the capital Moscow
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In England the celebrations were slightly more tame, with the main event involving several pagans and druids climb Glastonbury tor to watch the sun come up
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Hundreds of pagans perched themselves on the side of the hill to watch the sunrise over the fields of the West Country
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People dressed up in strange ghoulish outfits to mark the occasion - also known as Beltane - which is believed to be the beginning of summer as well
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The Archdruid of Glastonbury and Britain (left) led the ceremony in front of St Michael's Tower at the famous Somerset landmark
More than 100,000 people came out on the streets on Moscow to march in the traditional May Day parade.
Moscow's Federation of Trade Unions said about 120,000 people marched from the Red Square on the main streets of the Russian capital to mark May Day.
Over recent years, the parade became a highly orchestrated show of power by Russian authorities and the ruling United Russia party, with the demonstrators refraining from criticizing the government.
In St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, however, Russians unhappy with the Kremlin's attempts to curtail internet freedom joined the official May Day demonstration.
Several hundred people braved the rainy weather and joined the column marching across St. Petersburg to protest the government's ban of popular messaging app Telegram.
About 10,000 people rallied in Moscow on Monday to protest the blocking of Telegram.
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Labour Day was celebrated in Paris with a larger version of the general strikes that have been gripping the nation over recent weeks
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In Catalonia, thousands of working class people took to the streets to demonstrate over poor working conditions for labourers
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The protests, which went through the center of Barcelona, saw people waving Catalan flags in yet another display of Catalonian nationalism
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In Hong Kong protestors carried enormous banners in the shape of emojis as they walked in perfectly straight lanes through the city streets
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Meanwhile in Tokyo, demonstrators employed their own wacky protest methods, carrying characters from Despicable Me through the streets on floats
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In Pakistan the parades were slightly more conventional - as revellers in Lahore celebrated the day with a festival of singing and shouting slogans
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In Germany, far-right groups massed in the city of Chemnitz carrying green flags and wearing identical uniforms for their march
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Other Germans in Bavaria celebrated with a strange display in which they attempted to erect a maypole in front of gathered crowds
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There then followed a traditional beer drinking element to the festivities as the revellers, near Munich in Bavaria, made the most of the day
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In Lebanon, the Lebanese Communist party was out in full force campaigning for greater rights for poorer workers throughout the country
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Supporters of the grassroots movement donned hammers and sickles as they marched through the centre of the city of Beirut
A 29-year-old woman was killed by a falling maypole during the annual May Day celebrations in Bavaria, south-central Germany.
The woman was crushed to death when the top of the pole suddenly broke off and fell on top of her, local news reports.
The incident took place in Treuchtlingen, a small town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district of Bavaria.
Emergency services tried to revive the woman at the scene, however her life could not be saved.
A three-year-old boy was taken to hospital following the incident, after being hit by falling branches, Bild reports.
The 65ft to 80ft-high maypole had already been erected when the top third came off.
Police said the pole may have been damaged before it went up, and that strong winds caused it to break.
Maypole traditions are mainly found in Germanic Europe, Scandinavia and Britain, and are believed to hail from pagan ceremonies.
In Germany, a maypole, known as a Maibaum, is usually erected on 30th April or May 1st.
In Bavaria in particularity, the tradition of raising a maypole incorporates many surrounding festivities and the pole is often painted in Bavarian blue and white and decorated with leaves.
[size=38]Paris burns as rioters attack buildings, torch vehicles and loot McDonald's: French capital sees some of the worst May Day madness as protests erupt around the world[/size]
- Workers in several different countries took to the streets to march for the rights of labourers around the world
- Demonstrators in Paris, France, destroyed shops and threw rocks at police who responded with tear gas
- Protests in Istanbul, Turkey, took an ugly turn as demonstrators clashed with armoured riot police officers
- Workers in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Cambodia, Russia and even England also held celebrations of the day
By GEORGE MARTIN and SARA MALM FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 06:58 EDT, 1 May 2018 | UPDATED: 13:25 EDT, 1 May 2018
Protest marches have been held around the world to mark International Workers' Day, and while some remained peaceful parades, others escalated into violent clashes and destruction.
In Paris, which often sees large demonstrations on May 1st, protesters attacked a McDonald's restaurant with petrol bombs and looted the fast food restaurant.
Pictures from inside the franchise shows protesters helping themselves to drinks, throwing food on the floor and breaking cash register.
+46
French fries: A McDonald's restaurant is hit with petrol bombs thrown by activists during the traditional May Day rally in the center of Paris, France
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Paris is burning: A car and a motorcycle have been set alight outside a Renault automobile garage during the protest
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Blasting off: A protester holds a strip of fireworks as they explode during a demonstration in Paris
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Street weapons: A masked protester throws a rock during clashes at the May Day labour union march in Paris, France
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Two sides: A riot policeman throws a teargas shell towards protesters outside a McDonald's in the French capital
Protesters clashed with police in the street and masked demonstrators were seen throwing rocks at riot police, who responded with tear gas.
Cars were also set alight in several locations, including outside a Renault garage in the French capital this afternoon.
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Images show more than a dozen protesters being detained in Istanbul on Tuesday after trying to march towards Istanbul's symbolic main square in defiance of a ban on protests there.
Police can be seen cracking down hard on defiant demonstrators - arresting them with brutal force as they protested against government reforms.
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Anger: Demonstrators wearing masks and eye-protection march while waving anarchist flags and flares in Paris
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Escape: Demonstrators flee from clouds of teargas during a May Day workers' rally in Paris today
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A man walks past a burning car outside several garages, which have been damaged by protesters in Paris
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Protesters react as teargas clouds and fire rages during a demonstration on the sidelines of a march for the annual May Day workers' rally in Paris
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Thick, dark smoke rises from a burning car during a demonstration on the side lines of the march for the annual May Day workers' rally, in Paris
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'Anti capitalist': A female protester helps herself to a drink as demonstrators loot a McDonald's restaurant
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Anarchy makes me hungry: A masked man holds a waffle cone as he looks onto broken monitors at the McDonald
Turkey declared Taksim Square off-limits to May Day celebrations citing security concerns. Roads leading to the square were blocked and police allowed only small groups of labour union representatives to lay wreaths at a monument there.
Still, a group of some 25 people chanting 'Taksim cannot be off limits on May 1' tried to push their way into the square but were rounded up by riot police.
Taksim holds a symbolic value for Turkey's labour movement. In 1977, 34 people were killed there during a May Day event when shots were fired into the crowd from a nearby building.
Meanwhile in the Philippines, around 5,000 people from various groups rallied near the presidential palace in Manila.
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A masked and hooded protester uses a hammer to smash a pavement during clashes with French CRS riot police at the May Day labour union rally in Paris
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Demonstrators pick up rocks and cobblestones and throw them towards police officers as teargas clouds rise during a demonstration in Paris
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Demonstrators in Istanbul were confronted by armed police as they tried to break into the banned protest zone at Taksim square
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According to reports more than a dozen protesters were arrested following violent clashes between civilians and armed cops
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Dramatic pictures emerging from the scene show defiant demonstrators struggling against policemen as they are hauled away
They were protesting over the failure of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to fulfil a major campaign promise to end contractualisation, the widespread practice of short-term employment.
The protesters also demanded that the government address issues including low wages, unemployment and trade union repression.
In South Korea, thousands of labour union members rallied in central Seoul for a higher minimum wage and other demands.
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In the Philippines workers took the opportunity of May Day to protest against controversial incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte
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Demonstrators in the Filipino capital Manila set fire to a range of elaborate effigies which they had constructed as part of their protest
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In South Korea, hordes of people gathered in the main square in Seoul to offer support to embattled trade unions in the country
They chanted slogans urging the government to implement a 10,000 won (£6.82) minimum wage and convert all non-regular employees to regular workers with equal pay and treatment.
The rally was organised by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. The police estimated the crowd at 10,000 people.
The union members also demanded that the government scrap the restructuring of the shipbuilding and car industries, and reform the huge conglomerates that dominate the South Korean economy.
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London involved: A march and rally marking International Workers Day is held in London's Trafalgar Square
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Protesters set off flares and held up banners as they marched through the British capital
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Men waving the flags of the Kudish YPG militia climbed one of the lions in Trafalgar Square
In Indonesia, about 10,000 workers from various labour groups rallied near the presidential palace in Jakarta to voice their demands.
Most of the workers came from Jakarta and nearby suburbs, but some travelled from West Java and Surabaya.
The protesters urged the government to avoid outsourcing, and to raise their wages. They also asked the government to stop foreign labourers from working in Indonesia, saying it decreases employment opportunities for local workers.
About 2,000 garment workers also gathered at a park in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, for a rally organised by a garment union coalition.
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In Jakarta, Indonesia, flag waving protestors graced the streets of the capital as part of their peaceful May Day celebrations
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Several thousands also turned out in Colombo, Sri Lanka in a show of force from several of the country's main worker's unions
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Cambodian workers also used International Workers' Day to protest about the lack of working-class rights in their country
The workers wanted to march to the National Assembly to urge politicians to help them address labour-related concerns, but the group was stopped by riot police.
Prime Minister Hun Sun spent May Day with some 5,000 garment workers just outside Phnom Penh. He thanked the workers by announcing that each of them will receive 50,000 riel (£9.18). With a general election coming up in July, Mr Hun Sen has for the past year been courting the large bloc of garment workers, whose unions have traditionally been strong supporters of the opposition.
Sri Lanka's government has postponed the rallies and processions that mark May Day because the week-long celebrations of the national festival of Vesak carry on until May 2 this year.
The government said in a statement that the decision was taken following requests by leading Buddhist monks, who are very influential in the majority Buddhist country. Vesak is also known as Buddha Purnima and marks the enlightenment of Lord Buddha.
The government has asked political parties and trade unions not to hold rallies on May 1. Some have said they will ignore the government directive and mark the day.
Usually, Sri Lankan political parties and trade unions celebrate International Workers' Day with colourful parades and giant rallies to showcase their political and organisational strength.
The government said it will mark International Workers' Day on May 7.
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Thousands of daring Russians staged a protest in the shadow of the Kremlin in a demonstration aimed at reinforcing the rights of workers
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The army of workers could be seen crossing the famous Bolshoy Bridge in Moscow's city centre as part of their demonstration
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The Russian May Day parade in St Petersburg was full of reminders of the country's past - including flags of past leaders like Lenin (pictured)
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Police detain a protester during the May Day rally in St Petersburg, Russia, who appears to be draped in a rainbow flag symbolising gay pride
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Members of the Russian Communist party and supporters took part in a huge march through the streets of the capital Moscow
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In England the celebrations were slightly more tame, with the main event involving several pagans and druids climb Glastonbury tor to watch the sun come up
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Hundreds of pagans perched themselves on the side of the hill to watch the sunrise over the fields of the West Country
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People dressed up in strange ghoulish outfits to mark the occasion - also known as Beltane - which is believed to be the beginning of summer as well
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The Archdruid of Glastonbury and Britain (left) led the ceremony in front of St Michael's Tower at the famous Somerset landmark
More than 100,000 people came out on the streets on Moscow to march in the traditional May Day parade.
Moscow's Federation of Trade Unions said about 120,000 people marched from the Red Square on the main streets of the Russian capital to mark May Day.
Over recent years, the parade became a highly orchestrated show of power by Russian authorities and the ruling United Russia party, with the demonstrators refraining from criticizing the government.
In St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, however, Russians unhappy with the Kremlin's attempts to curtail internet freedom joined the official May Day demonstration.
Several hundred people braved the rainy weather and joined the column marching across St. Petersburg to protest the government's ban of popular messaging app Telegram.
About 10,000 people rallied in Moscow on Monday to protest the blocking of Telegram.
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Labour Day was celebrated in Paris with a larger version of the general strikes that have been gripping the nation over recent weeks
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In Catalonia, thousands of working class people took to the streets to demonstrate over poor working conditions for labourers
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The protests, which went through the center of Barcelona, saw people waving Catalan flags in yet another display of Catalonian nationalism
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In Hong Kong protestors carried enormous banners in the shape of emojis as they walked in perfectly straight lanes through the city streets
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Meanwhile in Tokyo, demonstrators employed their own wacky protest methods, carrying characters from Despicable Me through the streets on floats
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In Pakistan the parades were slightly more conventional - as revellers in Lahore celebrated the day with a festival of singing and shouting slogans
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In Germany, far-right groups massed in the city of Chemnitz carrying green flags and wearing identical uniforms for their march
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Other Germans in Bavaria celebrated with a strange display in which they attempted to erect a maypole in front of gathered crowds
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There then followed a traditional beer drinking element to the festivities as the revellers, near Munich in Bavaria, made the most of the day
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In Lebanon, the Lebanese Communist party was out in full force campaigning for greater rights for poorer workers throughout the country
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Supporters of the grassroots movement donned hammers and sickles as they marched through the centre of the city of Beirut
[size=34]Woman, 29, is crushed to death by falling maypole during May Day celebrations in Bavaria[/size]
A 29-year-old woman was killed by a falling maypole during the annual May Day celebrations in Bavaria, south-central Germany.
The woman was crushed to death when the top of the pole suddenly broke off and fell on top of her, local news reports.
The incident took place in Treuchtlingen, a small town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district of Bavaria.
Emergency services tried to revive the woman at the scene, however her life could not be saved.
A three-year-old boy was taken to hospital following the incident, after being hit by falling branches, Bild reports.
The 65ft to 80ft-high maypole had already been erected when the top third came off.
Police said the pole may have been damaged before it went up, and that strong winds caused it to break.
Maypole traditions are mainly found in Germanic Europe, Scandinavia and Britain, and are believed to hail from pagan ceremonies.
In Germany, a maypole, known as a Maibaum, is usually erected on 30th April or May 1st.
In Bavaria in particularity, the tradition of raising a maypole incorporates many surrounding festivities and the pole is often painted in Bavarian blue and white and decorated with leaves.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by Admin Wed 02 May 2018, 07:18
LOL!Way2Old4Dis wrote:Well... Granted there are women who like to watch violence toward women and/or fantasize about being victims of sexual violence. But the simplest argument against Greer's contention is that there certainly aren't enough of these women to be responsible for the popularity of this kind of entertainment.
The most compelling and probably accurate argument would be that she's out of her fucking mind.
I always thought it was just a lazy staple of script-writing: you need to threaten whatever makes your hero tick in order to motivate him to be the hero. Given that a lot of men still suffer from the Prince Charming complex (where the man is big, brave and strong and rescues the damsel in distress) and films are mostly made to cater to men's fantasies, I'd say that has a lot to do with it.
I dunno if I'd call it a survival instinct, but it's a thing.LizzyNY wrote:There have always been more women than men. I m beginning to wonder if there is some kind of hardwired survival instinct that makes women want to see other women fail or look bad.
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 2188
Join date : 2010-12-05
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Wed 02 May 2018, 10:46
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5680609/Muellers-former-assistant-says-grammatical-errors-prove-leaked-44-questions-came-TRUMP.html
[size=34]Mueller's former assistant says grammatical errors prove leaked 44 questions came from TRUMP[/size]
By HANNAH PARRY and KEITH GRIFFITH and DAVID MARTOKSO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 21:25 EDT, 1 May 2018 | UPDATED: 05:40 EDT, 2 May 2018
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's former assistant claims that grammatical errors among the leaked 44 questions prove they came from Donald Trump.
The president went on a furious rant on Tuesday after The New York Times published a list of questions which he said had been sent to his lawyers by Mueller amid ongoing negotiations about what they might address if he agreed to meet with investigators.
But Michael Zeldin, a CNN legal analyst and Mueller's ex-assistant, believes Trump leaked the list - and he points to the terrible grammar in the poorly written questions.
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Special Counsel Robert Mueller's (left) former assistant Michael Zeldin (right) claims that grammatical errors among the leaked 44 questions prove they came from Donald Trump
One such example was: 'What did you do in reaction to the March 20 testimony confirming the FBI was investigating members of the Trump campaign? Describe your contacts with intelligence officials.'
'I think these are notes taken by the recipients of a conversation with Mueller's office where he outlined broad topics and these guys wrote down questions that they thought these topics may raise,' Zeldin said on CNN's 'New Day', according to The Hill.
'Because of the way these questions are written ... lawyers wouldn't write questions this way, in my estimation. Some of the grammar is not even proper,' added Zeldin, who worked as special counsel to Mueller in the early 1990s.
'So, I don't see this as a list of written questions that Mueller's office gave to the president. I think these are more notes that the White House has taken and then they have expanded upon the conversation to write out these as questions.'
Trump tweeted his fury at the leak on Tuesday morning, defending himself against what he sees as politically motivated, manufactured claims that motivated Mueller's appointment in the first place.
'So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were 'leaked' to the media. No questions on Collusion,' he noted.
'Oh, I see...you have a made up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed, and an investigation begun with illegally leaked classified information. Nice!'
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Trump has not yet formally agreed to sit down with investigators for an interview. Advisers have warned it could be a perjury trap, and Trump's lawyers have been negotiating topics
In a second tweet, Trump addressed Democrats' glee at the prospect of indicting him on obstruction of justice charges.
'It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened!' he wrote.
'Witch Hunt!'
The questions were wide-ranging and open-ended, and suggest a major interest in potential obstruction charges – a concept that the president was quick to mock on Tuesday.
The barb about classified information refers to former FBI director James Comey, whom Trump fired last year. Comey acknowledged during a later Senate hearing that he provided memos of his meetings with Trump to a law school professor-friend, instructing him to leak them to the media in the hope that it would generate an outcry for a special counsel.
Trump later said some of the material in those memos was classified.
Mueller's questions focus not only on alleged links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government – the special counsel's original mandate – but also dwell heavily on Trump's thoughts and actions after the election.
Eighteen of the questions focus on Trump's May 2017 decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey. Thirteen are about alleged campaign links to Russia, eight concern Attorney General Jeff Sessions and five aim at the saga surrounding former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn.
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The president lashed out Tuesday at the Mueller investigation, calling it a 'disgraceful' probe of a 'phony crime ... that never existed'
Mueller also wants to ask Trump what his 'reaction' was after Comey briefed him on January 6, 2017 in Trump Tower about the claims in the Democrat-financed 'dirty dossier,' which alleged that Russia had compromising information on Trump.
Other questions ask about Trump's reaction to Session's recusal from the Russian election interference investigation, and his decision to fire Flynn in February 2017.
The questions reveal publicly for the first time that the FBI may suspect Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, of 'outreach' to Russia during the presidential election.
'What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?' one question reads.
Manafort had not previously been publicly accused of contact with Russia during the campaign.
He has pleaded not guilty to tax fraud charges unrelated to the election, which Mueller brought in the course of the probe, and denies any involvement in Russian election interference.
One question asks what discussions Trump may have had regarding 'any meeting with Mr. Putin,' referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Another question asks what the president may have known about a possible attempt by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to set up a back channel with Russia after the election, but before Trump's inauguration.
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The questions reveal publicly for the first time that the FBI may suspect Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, (above) of 'outreach' to Russia during the election
The bulk of the questions center on Trump's May 2017 firing of Comey.
The questions probe deeply into Trump's exact thoughts, motivations and actions surrounding the firing, which Trump said at the time was motivated by the mishandling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
Mueller's questions indicate his suspicion that the firing was motivated by concern that the FBI was investigating members of the Trump campaign over suspected links to Russia.
'Regarding the decision to fire Comey: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?' one question reads.
Additional questions center on Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his discussions on sanctions against Russia with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition.
Flynn is now cooperating with Mueller's investigators in a plea deal which is expected to spare his son from prosecution.
'What did you know about phone calls that Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, in late December 2016?' one question reads.
Another asks if there were any efforts to reach out to Flynn 'about seeking immunity or possible pardon'.
Flynn was fired February 13, 2017, after White House officials said he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the phone call during the transition period by saying that he had not discussed sanctions. It was later reported that he had urged Russia not to overreact to Obama administration sanctions.
The following day, according to memos written by Comey, Trump cleared the Oval Office of other officials and encouraged Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn.
Many of the questions on the list appear to be based on anonymously sourced reports in the New York Times and Washington Post, citing intelligence and executive branch officials.
Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow declined to comment on the list to the AP on Monday night, as did White House lawyer Ty Cobb.
Although Trump has casually commented publicly that he'd be happy to speak with Mueller's investigators, he has yet to formally agree to an interview.
Many of Trump's close advisors have warned him not to give an interview, fearing that Mueller is setting a perjury trap. If Trump's statements in an interview contradict someone else's or other evidence, he could be charged with lying to investigators.
If Trump refuses an interview, Mueller would be forced to consider subpoenaing him to testify before a grand jury - an extraordinary step to take against a sitting president.
Although the US has a longstanding tradition of protecting the president from being compelled to appear in court, it is not clearly enshrined in law. A subpoena of Trump would almost certainly end in a legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court.
On April 30, a list of questions that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators has sent to President Donald Trump's lawyers was reported by the New York Times.
The list was created amid negotiations about what topics Trump would be willing to discuss in a potential interview with investigators. Trump has not yet formally agreed to such an interview.
The questions in the following list have been paraphrased and edited to add context. They are grouped according to the primary topic of the question.
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What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, (above) to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?
1. When did you become aware of the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Don Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Hillary Clinton?
2. What involvement did you have in the communication strategy, including the release of Donald Trump Jr's emails about the meeting?
3. During a 2013 trip to Russia, what communication and relationships did you have with the Agalarovs, who set up the Trump Tower meeting, and with Russian government officials?
4. What communication did you have with Michael D. Cohen, Felix Sater and others, including foreign nationals, about Russian real estate developments during the campaign? (Refers to a failed effort to build a Trump Tower in Moscow)
5. What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding any meeting with Putin? Did you discuss it with others?
6. What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding Russian sanctions?
7. What involvement did you have concerning Republican party platform changes regarding arming Ukraine?
8. During the campaign, what did you know about Russian hacking, use of social media or other acts aimed at the campaign?
9. What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?
10. What did you know about communication between Roger Stone, his associates, Julian Assange or WikiLeaks?
11. What did you know during the transition about an attempt to establish back-channel communication to Russia, and Jared Kushner's efforts?
12. What do you know about a 2017 meeting in Seychelles involving Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to Putin?
13. What do you know about a Ukrainian peace proposal provided to Cohen in 2017?
What did you know about phone calls that Mike Flynn (left) made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, (right) in late December 2016?
14. What did you know about phone calls that Mike Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, in late December 2016?
15. What was your reaction to news reports on January 12, 2017, and February 8-9, 2017, revealing Flynn had urged Russia not to overreact to Obama sanctions in the calls?
16. What did you know about Sally Yates's meetings with White House staff to warn that Flynn lied about the content of the calls?
17. How was the decision made to fire Flynn on February 13, 2017?
18. What efforts were made to reach out to Flynn about seeking immunity or possible pardon?
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Did you discuss whether Sessions (above) would protect you, and reference past attorneys general who had protected presidents?
19. What did you think and do regarding the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions from the investigation into Russian election interference?
20. What efforts did you make to try to get him to change his mind?
21. Did you discuss whether Sessions would protect you, and reference past attorneys general who had protected presidents?
22. What did you think and what did you do in reaction to the news of the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller?
23. Why did you hold Sessions's resignation until May 31, 2017 before rejecting it, and with whom did you discuss it?
24. What discussions did you have with Reince Priebus in July 2017 about obtaining the Sessions resignation? With whom did you discuss it?
25. What discussions did you have regarding firing Robert Mueller, and what did you do when that consideration was reported in January 2018?
26. What was the purpose of your July 2017 criticism of Sessions, including that he had 'taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes'?
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Regarding the decision to fire Comey: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?
27. What was your opinion of FBI Director James Comey during the transition?
28. What did you think about Comey's intelligence briefing on January 6, 2017, about Russian election interference?
29. What was your reaction to Comey's briefing that day about other intelligence matters, including the allegations in the Steele dossier?
30. What was the purpose of your January 27, 2017, dinner with Comey, and what was said?
31. What was the purpose of your February 14, 2017, meeting with Comey, and what was said?
32. What did you know about the FBI's investigation into Flynn and Russia in the days leading up to Comey's testimony on March 20, 2017?
33. What did you do in reaction to the March 20 testimony confirming the FBI was investigating members of the Trump campaign? Describe your contacts with intelligence officials.
34. What did you think and do in reaction to the news that the Mueller probe was speaking to then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo, NSA Director Michael S. Rogers and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats?
35. What was the purpose of your calls to Comey on March 30 and April 11, 2017?
36. What was the purpose of your April 11, 2017, statement to Fox Business Network, including 'Director Comey was very, very good to Hillary Clinton, that I can tell you'?
37. What did you think and do about Comey's May 3, 2017, testimony about his handling of the Clinton email investigation?
38. Regarding the decision to fire Comey on May 9, 2017: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?
39. What did you mean when you told Russian diplomats on May 10, 2017, that firing Comey had taken the pressure off?
40. What did you mean in your interview with Lester Holt about Comey and Russia? (Trump said: 'I was going to fire Comey knowing there was no good time to do it. And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself — I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won.)
41. What was the purpose of your May 12, 2017, tweet stating 'James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!'?
42. What did you think about Comey's June 8, 2017, testimony regarding Flynn, and what did you do about it?
43. What was the purpose of the September and October 2017 statements, including tweets, suggesting an investigation of Comey for giving false testimony to Congress?
44. What is the reason for your continued criticism of Comey and his former deputy, Andrew G. McCabe?
[size=34]Mueller's former assistant says grammatical errors prove leaked 44 questions came from TRUMP[/size]
- Mueller reportedly sent the list of nearly four dozen questions to Trump's lawyers
- Michael Zeldin, Mueller's ex-assistant, believes Trump leaked the list to the New York Times - and he points to the terrible grammar as proof
- 'Lawyers wouldn't write questions this way, in my estimation. Some of the grammar is not even proper,' he said
- He believes the questions are notes taken by the White House during conversations with Mueller
- List is a result of negotiations over topics for a potential interview with Trump
- Asks about campaign 'links' with Russia, and Trump's actions after election
- Focuses heavily on firing of Comey and Mike Flynn, and recusal of Jeff Sessions
- Hints that a major focus of the probe has become potential obstruction charges
- Reveals FBI suspects Paul Manafort of 'outreach' to Russia for campaign help
- Trump has not formally agreed to be interviewed by investigators
- But he lashed out Tuesday at 'disgraceful' investigation
By HANNAH PARRY and KEITH GRIFFITH and DAVID MARTOKSO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 21:25 EDT, 1 May 2018 | UPDATED: 05:40 EDT, 2 May 2018
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's former assistant claims that grammatical errors among the leaked 44 questions prove they came from Donald Trump.
The president went on a furious rant on Tuesday after The New York Times published a list of questions which he said had been sent to his lawyers by Mueller amid ongoing negotiations about what they might address if he agreed to meet with investigators.
But Michael Zeldin, a CNN legal analyst and Mueller's ex-assistant, believes Trump leaked the list - and he points to the terrible grammar in the poorly written questions.
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Special Counsel Robert Mueller's (left) former assistant Michael Zeldin (right) claims that grammatical errors among the leaked 44 questions prove they came from Donald Trump
One such example was: 'What did you do in reaction to the March 20 testimony confirming the FBI was investigating members of the Trump campaign? Describe your contacts with intelligence officials.'
'I think these are notes taken by the recipients of a conversation with Mueller's office where he outlined broad topics and these guys wrote down questions that they thought these topics may raise,' Zeldin said on CNN's 'New Day', according to The Hill.
'Because of the way these questions are written ... lawyers wouldn't write questions this way, in my estimation. Some of the grammar is not even proper,' added Zeldin, who worked as special counsel to Mueller in the early 1990s.
'So, I don't see this as a list of written questions that Mueller's office gave to the president. I think these are more notes that the White House has taken and then they have expanded upon the conversation to write out these as questions.'
Trump tweeted his fury at the leak on Tuesday morning, defending himself against what he sees as politically motivated, manufactured claims that motivated Mueller's appointment in the first place.
'So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were 'leaked' to the media. No questions on Collusion,' he noted.
'Oh, I see...you have a made up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed, and an investigation begun with illegally leaked classified information. Nice!'
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Trump has not yet formally agreed to sit down with investigators for an interview. Advisers have warned it could be a perjury trap, and Trump's lawyers have been negotiating topics
In a second tweet, Trump addressed Democrats' glee at the prospect of indicting him on obstruction of justice charges.
'It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened!' he wrote.
'Witch Hunt!'
The questions were wide-ranging and open-ended, and suggest a major interest in potential obstruction charges – a concept that the president was quick to mock on Tuesday.
The barb about classified information refers to former FBI director James Comey, whom Trump fired last year. Comey acknowledged during a later Senate hearing that he provided memos of his meetings with Trump to a law school professor-friend, instructing him to leak them to the media in the hope that it would generate an outcry for a special counsel.
Trump later said some of the material in those memos was classified.
Mueller's questions focus not only on alleged links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government – the special counsel's original mandate – but also dwell heavily on Trump's thoughts and actions after the election.
Eighteen of the questions focus on Trump's May 2017 decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey. Thirteen are about alleged campaign links to Russia, eight concern Attorney General Jeff Sessions and five aim at the saga surrounding former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn.
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The president lashed out Tuesday at the Mueller investigation, calling it a 'disgraceful' probe of a 'phony crime ... that never existed'
Mueller also wants to ask Trump what his 'reaction' was after Comey briefed him on January 6, 2017 in Trump Tower about the claims in the Democrat-financed 'dirty dossier,' which alleged that Russia had compromising information on Trump.
Other questions ask about Trump's reaction to Session's recusal from the Russian election interference investigation, and his decision to fire Flynn in February 2017.
The questions reveal publicly for the first time that the FBI may suspect Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, of 'outreach' to Russia during the presidential election.
'What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?' one question reads.
Manafort had not previously been publicly accused of contact with Russia during the campaign.
He has pleaded not guilty to tax fraud charges unrelated to the election, which Mueller brought in the course of the probe, and denies any involvement in Russian election interference.
One question asks what discussions Trump may have had regarding 'any meeting with Mr. Putin,' referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Another question asks what the president may have known about a possible attempt by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to set up a back channel with Russia after the election, but before Trump's inauguration.
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The questions reveal publicly for the first time that the FBI may suspect Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, (above) of 'outreach' to Russia during the election
The bulk of the questions center on Trump's May 2017 firing of Comey.
The questions probe deeply into Trump's exact thoughts, motivations and actions surrounding the firing, which Trump said at the time was motivated by the mishandling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
Mueller's questions indicate his suspicion that the firing was motivated by concern that the FBI was investigating members of the Trump campaign over suspected links to Russia.
'Regarding the decision to fire Comey: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?' one question reads.
Additional questions center on Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his discussions on sanctions against Russia with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition.
Flynn is now cooperating with Mueller's investigators in a plea deal which is expected to spare his son from prosecution.
'What did you know about phone calls that Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, in late December 2016?' one question reads.
Another asks if there were any efforts to reach out to Flynn 'about seeking immunity or possible pardon'.
Flynn was fired February 13, 2017, after White House officials said he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the phone call during the transition period by saying that he had not discussed sanctions. It was later reported that he had urged Russia not to overreact to Obama administration sanctions.
The following day, according to memos written by Comey, Trump cleared the Oval Office of other officials and encouraged Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn.
Many of the questions on the list appear to be based on anonymously sourced reports in the New York Times and Washington Post, citing intelligence and executive branch officials.
Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow declined to comment on the list to the AP on Monday night, as did White House lawyer Ty Cobb.
Although Trump has casually commented publicly that he'd be happy to speak with Mueller's investigators, he has yet to formally agree to an interview.
Many of Trump's close advisors have warned him not to give an interview, fearing that Mueller is setting a perjury trap. If Trump's statements in an interview contradict someone else's or other evidence, he could be charged with lying to investigators.
If Trump refuses an interview, Mueller would be forced to consider subpoenaing him to testify before a grand jury - an extraordinary step to take against a sitting president.
Although the US has a longstanding tradition of protecting the president from being compelled to appear in court, it is not clearly enshrined in law. A subpoena of Trump would almost certainly end in a legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court.
[size=34]Questions Mueller wants the president to answer[/size]
On April 30, a list of questions that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators has sent to President Donald Trump's lawyers was reported by the New York Times.
The list was created amid negotiations about what topics Trump would be willing to discuss in a potential interview with investigators. Trump has not yet formally agreed to such an interview.
The questions in the following list have been paraphrased and edited to add context. They are grouped according to the primary topic of the question.
CAMPAIGN 'COLLUSION' WITH RUSSIA
+10
What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, (above) to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?
1. When did you become aware of the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Don Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Hillary Clinton?
2. What involvement did you have in the communication strategy, including the release of Donald Trump Jr's emails about the meeting?
3. During a 2013 trip to Russia, what communication and relationships did you have with the Agalarovs, who set up the Trump Tower meeting, and with Russian government officials?
4. What communication did you have with Michael D. Cohen, Felix Sater and others, including foreign nationals, about Russian real estate developments during the campaign? (Refers to a failed effort to build a Trump Tower in Moscow)
5. What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding any meeting with Putin? Did you discuss it with others?
6. What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding Russian sanctions?
7. What involvement did you have concerning Republican party platform changes regarding arming Ukraine?
8. During the campaign, what did you know about Russian hacking, use of social media or other acts aimed at the campaign?
9. What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?
10. What did you know about communication between Roger Stone, his associates, Julian Assange or WikiLeaks?
11. What did you know during the transition about an attempt to establish back-channel communication to Russia, and Jared Kushner's efforts?
12. What do you know about a 2017 meeting in Seychelles involving Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to Putin?
13. What do you know about a Ukrainian peace proposal provided to Cohen in 2017?
EX-NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR MIKE FLYNN
What did you know about phone calls that Mike Flynn (left) made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, (right) in late December 2016?
14. What did you know about phone calls that Mike Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, in late December 2016?
15. What was your reaction to news reports on January 12, 2017, and February 8-9, 2017, revealing Flynn had urged Russia not to overreact to Obama sanctions in the calls?
16. What did you know about Sally Yates's meetings with White House staff to warn that Flynn lied about the content of the calls?
17. How was the decision made to fire Flynn on February 13, 2017?
18. What efforts were made to reach out to Flynn about seeking immunity or possible pardon?
ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS
+10
Did you discuss whether Sessions (above) would protect you, and reference past attorneys general who had protected presidents?
19. What did you think and do regarding the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions from the investigation into Russian election interference?
20. What efforts did you make to try to get him to change his mind?
21. Did you discuss whether Sessions would protect you, and reference past attorneys general who had protected presidents?
22. What did you think and what did you do in reaction to the news of the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller?
23. Why did you hold Sessions's resignation until May 31, 2017 before rejecting it, and with whom did you discuss it?
24. What discussions did you have with Reince Priebus in July 2017 about obtaining the Sessions resignation? With whom did you discuss it?
25. What discussions did you have regarding firing Robert Mueller, and what did you do when that consideration was reported in January 2018?
26. What was the purpose of your July 2017 criticism of Sessions, including that he had 'taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes'?
EX-FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY
+10
Regarding the decision to fire Comey: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?
27. What was your opinion of FBI Director James Comey during the transition?
28. What did you think about Comey's intelligence briefing on January 6, 2017, about Russian election interference?
29. What was your reaction to Comey's briefing that day about other intelligence matters, including the allegations in the Steele dossier?
30. What was the purpose of your January 27, 2017, dinner with Comey, and what was said?
31. What was the purpose of your February 14, 2017, meeting with Comey, and what was said?
32. What did you know about the FBI's investigation into Flynn and Russia in the days leading up to Comey's testimony on March 20, 2017?
33. What did you do in reaction to the March 20 testimony confirming the FBI was investigating members of the Trump campaign? Describe your contacts with intelligence officials.
34. What did you think and do in reaction to the news that the Mueller probe was speaking to then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo, NSA Director Michael S. Rogers and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats?
35. What was the purpose of your calls to Comey on March 30 and April 11, 2017?
36. What was the purpose of your April 11, 2017, statement to Fox Business Network, including 'Director Comey was very, very good to Hillary Clinton, that I can tell you'?
37. What did you think and do about Comey's May 3, 2017, testimony about his handling of the Clinton email investigation?
38. Regarding the decision to fire Comey on May 9, 2017: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?
39. What did you mean when you told Russian diplomats on May 10, 2017, that firing Comey had taken the pressure off?
40. What did you mean in your interview with Lester Holt about Comey and Russia? (Trump said: 'I was going to fire Comey knowing there was no good time to do it. And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself — I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won.)
41. What was the purpose of your May 12, 2017, tweet stating 'James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!'?
42. What did you think about Comey's June 8, 2017, testimony regarding Flynn, and what did you do about it?
43. What was the purpose of the September and October 2017 statements, including tweets, suggesting an investigation of Comey for giving false testimony to Congress?
44. What is the reason for your continued criticism of Comey and his former deputy, Andrew G. McCabe?
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by Admin Wed 02 May 2018, 13:15
Uh, I think that's what we call a sticky wicket. Surely it IS possible to obstruct justice. Whether the crime being investigated happened or didn't happen is irrelevant. If a crime may have happened, the it has to be investigated (without obstruction)."'It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened!' he wrote. "
Admin- Admin
- Posts : 2188
Join date : 2010-12-05
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Wed 02 May 2018, 19:38
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5682599/Trump-says-Muellers-questions-obstruction-justice-setup-trap.html
[size=34]Trump says Mueller's questions about obstruction of justice are 'a setup and trap' as special counsel probe zeroes in on him and friends say he's 'not afraid of high-stakes legal stuff'[/size]
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:48 EDT, 2 May 2018 | UPDATED: 13:53 EDT, 2 May 2018
President Donald Trump launched an angry attack on special counsel Robert Mueller Wednesday, accusing him of laying a 'trap' in a list of leaked questions.
Trump addressed the list of questions the special counsel plans to ask him that center on allegations of collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice after a report revealed Mueller's threat to subpoena the president if he resists an interview.
'There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap),' Trump said in a tweet that continued to brand the probe a 'witch hunt.'
A separate report explained the president's defiance with a quote from someone close to Trump who told Axios: 'He's not afraid of high-stakes legal stuff.'
+6
President Donald Trump is on the path to a historic confrontation with special counsel Robert Mueller if he refuses to answer the DOJ-appointed prosecutor's questions
+6
'There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap),' Trump said in a tweet that continued to brand the probe a 'witch hunt'
+6
The White House is not disputing the authenticity of a list of 44 questions Mueller wants to ask Trump that leaked to press on Monday, indicating that the document that news outlets obtained is real
The White House is not disputing the authenticity of a list of 44 questions Mueller wants to ask Trump that leaked to press on Monday, indicating that the document obtained by news outlets beginning with the New York Times, obtained is real.
It is batting down charges that the White House put out the list itself, with Trump personally calling the leak 'disgraceful.'
Trump had previously said he was looking forward to sitting down with Mueller, and lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed last month that he expected the probe to soon wrap up.
The president's defiant tweet on Wednesday morning suggested that he was perhaps changing course based on the nature of the expected questions about his dismissal of his first National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and former FBI director James Comey.
Hogan Gidley, a spokesman for the president, further opened up the possibility this morning when he said that Trump would decide whether or not to speak to Mueller on the advice of counsel.
'Look, there's been a lot of rumor, a lot of innuendo and a lot of stories out there that just don't add up,' he said of the claim that Mueller is considering a subpoena. 'We have been absolutely cooperative and transparent with the special investigation. The president has been clear that this is a witch hunt. There is zero evidence of any collusion.'
Continuing he said, 'That's where this thing started. Now they're trying to move to obstruction, and the president has been clear there, too. There's no obstruction to speak of, either. But out of respect for the process, I just can't comment on those types of things and instead I have to turn you over to the president's personal attorneys.'
One Trump tweet directly combated allegations that there's a substantive obstruction of justice argument to be made. Trump quoted a lawyer that he had planned to hire before he was ruled out by conflicts of interest that said there isn't.
Former US Attorney Joe Digenova said in a Sirius XM interview on The Michael Smerconish Program that the questions linked to obstruction of justice are a violation of Trump's constitutional powers as president.
'The questions are an intrusion into the president's Article Two powers under the Constitution to fire any executive branch employee. To ask questions, as Mr. Mueller apparently proposes to do, about what the president was thinking when he fired Comey or Flynn or anybody else is in outrageous, sophomoric, juvenile intrusion into the president's unfettered power to fire anyone in the executive branch.
'It is a symptom of how ridiculous this appointment was by Rod Rosenstein when he made the appointment with no evidence of a crime,' Digenova said.
Asked Tuesday about concerns within the White House about questions that point to an interest by Mueller in investigating obstruction of justice, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders dodged.
She deferred all other questions about the president's participation in the investigation to his personal attorneys.
Her deputy, Raj Shah, said later on Tuesday that he doubted the leak of the questions would make the president 'more likely' to speak to special counsel while directing questions about whether it would make an interview 'less likely' to Giuliani and Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow.
Shah also said it remains the White House's position that cooperating with special counsel will end the probe quicker, which is the ultimate goal, as he invoked an investigation into former President Bill Clinton that he said dragged on as the Democrat and his aides stonewalled the Justice Department.
The Trump spokesman told One America News said the White House had no 'motivation' to leak Mueller's questions.
'This stuff being strewn out in the New York Times doesn't really add up and make a lot of sense,' he said of the benefit of the release to the president. 'We hope that the special counsel and the president's legal team operate with confidence and confidentiality because this thing doesn't help anyone.'
Shah's comments jived with a New York Times assertion that its list did not come from someone on the president's legal team.
Speculation swirled on Tuesday evening that former Trump lawyer John Dowd may have put the list out because he is disgruntled.
The Washington Post meanwhile reported on Tuesday night that Mueller in March threatened to court-order the president to talk to him.
Such a confrontation could lead to a Supreme Court battle, the article said.
A source who is said to be close to the president told Axios that a legal fight doesn't scare Trump, who was known before he became president to be litigious.
'For the average human, nothing scares them more than legal issues. He. Does. Not. Care. His whole adult life has been spent in litigation. He's not afraid of high-stakes legal stuff. … He's just going to start swinging and knock people's heads off,' the person said.
If Trump does not submit for questioning, he could find his entire elected term in office consumed by the probe. It has overshadowed many of the achievements the White House claims for itself in his first year on the job, already.
As Rep. Adam Schiff noted, many of the questions not on the alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia that Mueller wants to ask Trump based on the leaked list 'point to obstruction of justice.'
Lawyer Alan Dershowitz, a pundit and advocate for Trump on the cable news shows, said Tuesday that Trump risks walking into a trap.
'The strategy is to throw him softballs so that he will go on and on with his answers,' he said. 'Instead of sharp questions designed to elicit yes or no, they make him feel very comfortable and let him ramble.'
Dershowitz reiterated his advice on Wednesday on Fox that Trump should not talk to Mueller because he would be setting himself up to fall into a 'perjury trap.'
On April 30, a list of questions that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators has sent to President Donald Trump's lawyers was reported by the New York Times.
The list was created amid negotiations about what topics Trump would be willing to discuss in a potential interview with investigators. Trump has not yet formally agreed to such an interview.
The questions in the following list have been paraphrased and edited to add context. They are grouped according to the primary topic of the question.
+6
What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, (above) to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?
1. When did you become aware of the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Don Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Hillary Clinton?
2. What involvement did you have in the communication strategy, including the release of Donald Trump Jr's emails about the meeting?
3. During a 2013 trip to Russia, what communication and relationships did you have with the Agalarovs, who set up the Trump Tower meeting, and with Russian government officials?
4. What communication did you have with Michael D. Cohen, Felix Sater and others, including foreign nationals, about Russian real estate developments during the campaign? (Refers to a failed effort to build a Trump Tower in Moscow)
5. What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding any meeting with Putin? Did you discuss it with others?
6. What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding Russian sanctions?
7. What involvement did you have concerning Republican party platform changes regarding arming Ukraine?
8. During the campaign, what did you know about Russian hacking, use of social media or other acts aimed at the campaign?
9. What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?
10. What did you know about communication between Roger Stone, his associates, Julian Assange or WikiLeaks?
11. What did you know during the transition about an attempt to establish back-channel communication to Russia, and Jared Kushner's efforts?
12. What do you know about a 2017 meeting in Seychelles involving Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to Putin?
13. What do you know about a Ukrainian peace proposal provided to Cohen in 2017?
What did you know about phone calls that Mike Flynn (left) made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, (right) in late December 2016?
14. What did you know about phone calls that Mike Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, in late December 2016?
15. What was your reaction to news reports on January 12, 2017, and February 8-9, 2017, revealing Flynn had urged Russia not to overreact to Obama sanctions in the calls?
16. What did you know about Sally Yates's meetings with White House staff to warn that Flynn lied about the content of the calls?
17. How was the decision made to fire Flynn on February 13, 2017?
18. What efforts were made to reach out to Flynn about seeking immunity or possible pardon?
+6
Did you discuss whether Sessions (above) would protect you, and reference past attorneys general who had protected presidents?
19. What did you think and do regarding the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions from the investigation into Russian election interference?
20. What efforts did you make to try to get him to change his mind?
21. Did you discuss whether Sessions would protect you, and reference past attorneys general who had protected presidents?
22. What did you think and what did you do in reaction to the news of the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller?
23. Why did you hold Sessions's resignation until May 31, 2017 before rejecting it, and with whom did you discuss it?
24. What discussions did you have with Reince Priebus in July 2017 about obtaining the Sessions resignation? With whom did you discuss it?
25. What discussions did you have regarding firing Robert Mueller, and what did you do when that consideration was reported in January 2018?
26. What was the purpose of your July 2017 criticism of Sessions, including that he had 'taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes'?
+6
Regarding the decision to fire Comey: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?
27. What was your opinion of FBI Director James Comey during the transition?
28. What did you think about Comey's intelligence briefing on January 6, 2017, about Russian election interference?
29. What was your reaction to Comey's briefing that day about other intelligence matters, including the allegations in the Steele dossier?
30. What was the purpose of your January 27, 2017, dinner with Comey, and what was said?
31. What was the purpose of your February 14, 2017, meeting with Comey, and what was said?
32. What did you know about the FBI's investigation into Flynn and Russia in the days leading up to Comey's testimony on March 20, 2017?
33. What did you do in reaction to the March 20 testimony confirming the FBI was investigating members of the Trump campaign? Describe your contacts with intelligence officials.
34. What did you think and do in reaction to the news that the Mueller probe was speaking to then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo, NSA Director Michael S. Rogers and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats?
35. What was the purpose of your calls to Comey on March 30 and April 11, 2017?
36. What was the purpose of your April 11, 2017, statement to Fox Business Network, including 'Director Comey was very, very good to Hillary Clinton, that I can tell you'?
37. What did you think and do about Comey's May 3, 2017, testimony about his handling of the Clinton email investigation?
38. Regarding the decision to fire Comey on May 9, 2017: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?
39. What did you mean when you told Russian diplomats on May 10, 2017, that firing Comey had taken the pressure off?
40. What did you mean in your interview with Lester Holt about Comey and Russia? (Trump said: 'I was going to fire Comey knowing there was no good time to do it. And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself — I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won.)
41. What was the purpose of your May 12, 2017, tweet stating 'James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!'?
42. What did you think about Comey's June 8, 2017, testimony regarding Flynn, and what did you do about it?
43. What was the purpose of the September and October 2017 statements, including tweets, suggesting an investigation of Comey for giving false testimony to Congress?
44. What is the reason for your continued criticism of Comey and his former deputy, Andrew G. McCabe?
[size=34]Trump says Mueller's questions about obstruction of justice are 'a setup and trap' as special counsel probe zeroes in on him and friends say he's 'not afraid of high-stakes legal stuff'[/size]
- Donald Trump is on the path to a historic confrontation with special counsel Robert Mueller, who has threatened to subpoena him if he doesn't play ball
- The White House says its position is that complying will make the probe end more quickly, and that is what it wants
- But Trump, who was known for being litigious in the real estate world, may welcome the challenge, a source close to him says
- And Trump defiantly claimed this morning, 'There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap)'
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:48 EDT, 2 May 2018 | UPDATED: 13:53 EDT, 2 May 2018
President Donald Trump launched an angry attack on special counsel Robert Mueller Wednesday, accusing him of laying a 'trap' in a list of leaked questions.
Trump addressed the list of questions the special counsel plans to ask him that center on allegations of collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice after a report revealed Mueller's threat to subpoena the president if he resists an interview.
'There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap),' Trump said in a tweet that continued to brand the probe a 'witch hunt.'
A separate report explained the president's defiance with a quote from someone close to Trump who told Axios: 'He's not afraid of high-stakes legal stuff.'
+6
President Donald Trump is on the path to a historic confrontation with special counsel Robert Mueller if he refuses to answer the DOJ-appointed prosecutor's questions
+6
'There was no Collusion (it is a Hoax) and there is no Obstruction of Justice (that is a setup & trap),' Trump said in a tweet that continued to brand the probe a 'witch hunt'
+6
The White House is not disputing the authenticity of a list of 44 questions Mueller wants to ask Trump that leaked to press on Monday, indicating that the document that news outlets obtained is real
The White House is not disputing the authenticity of a list of 44 questions Mueller wants to ask Trump that leaked to press on Monday, indicating that the document obtained by news outlets beginning with the New York Times, obtained is real.
It is batting down charges that the White House put out the list itself, with Trump personally calling the leak 'disgraceful.'
Trump had previously said he was looking forward to sitting down with Mueller, and lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed last month that he expected the probe to soon wrap up.
The president's defiant tweet on Wednesday morning suggested that he was perhaps changing course based on the nature of the expected questions about his dismissal of his first National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and former FBI director James Comey.
Hogan Gidley, a spokesman for the president, further opened up the possibility this morning when he said that Trump would decide whether or not to speak to Mueller on the advice of counsel.
'Look, there's been a lot of rumor, a lot of innuendo and a lot of stories out there that just don't add up,' he said of the claim that Mueller is considering a subpoena. 'We have been absolutely cooperative and transparent with the special investigation. The president has been clear that this is a witch hunt. There is zero evidence of any collusion.'
Continuing he said, 'That's where this thing started. Now they're trying to move to obstruction, and the president has been clear there, too. There's no obstruction to speak of, either. But out of respect for the process, I just can't comment on those types of things and instead I have to turn you over to the president's personal attorneys.'
One Trump tweet directly combated allegations that there's a substantive obstruction of justice argument to be made. Trump quoted a lawyer that he had planned to hire before he was ruled out by conflicts of interest that said there isn't.
Former US Attorney Joe Digenova said in a Sirius XM interview on The Michael Smerconish Program that the questions linked to obstruction of justice are a violation of Trump's constitutional powers as president.
'The questions are an intrusion into the president's Article Two powers under the Constitution to fire any executive branch employee. To ask questions, as Mr. Mueller apparently proposes to do, about what the president was thinking when he fired Comey or Flynn or anybody else is in outrageous, sophomoric, juvenile intrusion into the president's unfettered power to fire anyone in the executive branch.
'It is a symptom of how ridiculous this appointment was by Rod Rosenstein when he made the appointment with no evidence of a crime,' Digenova said.
Asked Tuesday about concerns within the White House about questions that point to an interest by Mueller in investigating obstruction of justice, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders dodged.
She deferred all other questions about the president's participation in the investigation to his personal attorneys.
Her deputy, Raj Shah, said later on Tuesday that he doubted the leak of the questions would make the president 'more likely' to speak to special counsel while directing questions about whether it would make an interview 'less likely' to Giuliani and Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow.
Shah also said it remains the White House's position that cooperating with special counsel will end the probe quicker, which is the ultimate goal, as he invoked an investigation into former President Bill Clinton that he said dragged on as the Democrat and his aides stonewalled the Justice Department.
The Trump spokesman told One America News said the White House had no 'motivation' to leak Mueller's questions.
'This stuff being strewn out in the New York Times doesn't really add up and make a lot of sense,' he said of the benefit of the release to the president. 'We hope that the special counsel and the president's legal team operate with confidence and confidentiality because this thing doesn't help anyone.'
Shah's comments jived with a New York Times assertion that its list did not come from someone on the president's legal team.
Speculation swirled on Tuesday evening that former Trump lawyer John Dowd may have put the list out because he is disgruntled.
The Washington Post meanwhile reported on Tuesday night that Mueller in March threatened to court-order the president to talk to him.
Such a confrontation could lead to a Supreme Court battle, the article said.
A source who is said to be close to the president told Axios that a legal fight doesn't scare Trump, who was known before he became president to be litigious.
'For the average human, nothing scares them more than legal issues. He. Does. Not. Care. His whole adult life has been spent in litigation. He's not afraid of high-stakes legal stuff. … He's just going to start swinging and knock people's heads off,' the person said.
If Trump does not submit for questioning, he could find his entire elected term in office consumed by the probe. It has overshadowed many of the achievements the White House claims for itself in his first year on the job, already.
As Rep. Adam Schiff noted, many of the questions not on the alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia that Mueller wants to ask Trump based on the leaked list 'point to obstruction of justice.'
Lawyer Alan Dershowitz, a pundit and advocate for Trump on the cable news shows, said Tuesday that Trump risks walking into a trap.
'The strategy is to throw him softballs so that he will go on and on with his answers,' he said. 'Instead of sharp questions designed to elicit yes or no, they make him feel very comfortable and let him ramble.'
Dershowitz reiterated his advice on Wednesday on Fox that Trump should not talk to Mueller because he would be setting himself up to fall into a 'perjury trap.'
[size=34]THE LEAKED QUESTIONS MUELLER 'WANTS TRUMP TO ANSWER'[/size]
On April 30, a list of questions that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators has sent to President Donald Trump's lawyers was reported by the New York Times.
The list was created amid negotiations about what topics Trump would be willing to discuss in a potential interview with investigators. Trump has not yet formally agreed to such an interview.
The questions in the following list have been paraphrased and edited to add context. They are grouped according to the primary topic of the question.
CAMPAIGN 'COLLUSION' WITH RUSSIA
+6
What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, (above) to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?
1. When did you become aware of the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Don Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Hillary Clinton?
2. What involvement did you have in the communication strategy, including the release of Donald Trump Jr's emails about the meeting?
3. During a 2013 trip to Russia, what communication and relationships did you have with the Agalarovs, who set up the Trump Tower meeting, and with Russian government officials?
4. What communication did you have with Michael D. Cohen, Felix Sater and others, including foreign nationals, about Russian real estate developments during the campaign? (Refers to a failed effort to build a Trump Tower in Moscow)
5. What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding any meeting with Putin? Did you discuss it with others?
6. What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding Russian sanctions?
7. What involvement did you have concerning Republican party platform changes regarding arming Ukraine?
8. During the campaign, what did you know about Russian hacking, use of social media or other acts aimed at the campaign?
9. What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?
10. What did you know about communication between Roger Stone, his associates, Julian Assange or WikiLeaks?
11. What did you know during the transition about an attempt to establish back-channel communication to Russia, and Jared Kushner's efforts?
12. What do you know about a 2017 meeting in Seychelles involving Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to Putin?
13. What do you know about a Ukrainian peace proposal provided to Cohen in 2017?
EX-NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR MIKE FLYNN
What did you know about phone calls that Mike Flynn (left) made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, (right) in late December 2016?
14. What did you know about phone calls that Mike Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, in late December 2016?
15. What was your reaction to news reports on January 12, 2017, and February 8-9, 2017, revealing Flynn had urged Russia not to overreact to Obama sanctions in the calls?
16. What did you know about Sally Yates's meetings with White House staff to warn that Flynn lied about the content of the calls?
17. How was the decision made to fire Flynn on February 13, 2017?
18. What efforts were made to reach out to Flynn about seeking immunity or possible pardon?
ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS
+6
Did you discuss whether Sessions (above) would protect you, and reference past attorneys general who had protected presidents?
19. What did you think and do regarding the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions from the investigation into Russian election interference?
20. What efforts did you make to try to get him to change his mind?
21. Did you discuss whether Sessions would protect you, and reference past attorneys general who had protected presidents?
22. What did you think and what did you do in reaction to the news of the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller?
23. Why did you hold Sessions's resignation until May 31, 2017 before rejecting it, and with whom did you discuss it?
24. What discussions did you have with Reince Priebus in July 2017 about obtaining the Sessions resignation? With whom did you discuss it?
25. What discussions did you have regarding firing Robert Mueller, and what did you do when that consideration was reported in January 2018?
26. What was the purpose of your July 2017 criticism of Sessions, including that he had 'taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes'?
EX-FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY
+6
Regarding the decision to fire Comey: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?
27. What was your opinion of FBI Director James Comey during the transition?
28. What did you think about Comey's intelligence briefing on January 6, 2017, about Russian election interference?
29. What was your reaction to Comey's briefing that day about other intelligence matters, including the allegations in the Steele dossier?
30. What was the purpose of your January 27, 2017, dinner with Comey, and what was said?
31. What was the purpose of your February 14, 2017, meeting with Comey, and what was said?
32. What did you know about the FBI's investigation into Flynn and Russia in the days leading up to Comey's testimony on March 20, 2017?
33. What did you do in reaction to the March 20 testimony confirming the FBI was investigating members of the Trump campaign? Describe your contacts with intelligence officials.
34. What did you think and do in reaction to the news that the Mueller probe was speaking to then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo, NSA Director Michael S. Rogers and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats?
35. What was the purpose of your calls to Comey on March 30 and April 11, 2017?
36. What was the purpose of your April 11, 2017, statement to Fox Business Network, including 'Director Comey was very, very good to Hillary Clinton, that I can tell you'?
37. What did you think and do about Comey's May 3, 2017, testimony about his handling of the Clinton email investigation?
38. Regarding the decision to fire Comey on May 9, 2017: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?
39. What did you mean when you told Russian diplomats on May 10, 2017, that firing Comey had taken the pressure off?
40. What did you mean in your interview with Lester Holt about Comey and Russia? (Trump said: 'I was going to fire Comey knowing there was no good time to do it. And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself — I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won.)
41. What was the purpose of your May 12, 2017, tweet stating 'James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!'?
42. What did you think about Comey's June 8, 2017, testimony regarding Flynn, and what did you do about it?
43. What was the purpose of the September and October 2017 statements, including tweets, suggesting an investigation of Comey for giving false testimony to Congress?
44. What is the reason for your continued criticism of Comey and his former deputy, Andrew G. McCabe?
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Thu 03 May 2018, 10:03
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5685239/Rudy-Giuliani-says-Donald-Trump-paid-Michael-Cohen-130-000-hush-money.html
[size=34]Shock as Rudy Giuliani says Trump REPAID Michael Cohen $130,000 hush money to Stormy Daniels - contradicting President's claim that he didn't know about payment[/size]
By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and REUTERS and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 22:06 EDT, 2 May 2018 | UPDATED: 04:51 EDT, 3 May 2018
Rudy Giuliani has sensationally revealed that Donald Trump repaid Michael Cohen $130,000 after the personal attorney shelled out the hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Giuliani, who has joined Trump's legal team in recent weeks, made the statement during an interview with Sean Hannity on the Fox News Channel late Wednesday.
The statement contradicts Trump's denial last month that he had any knowledge of Cohen's initial payment to Daniels.
'Having something having to do with paying some Stormy Daniels woman $130,000 – I mean which going to turn out to be perfectly legal,' Giuliani said.
'That money was not campaign money, sorry.
'They funneled through the law firm and the president repaid it.'
+12
Rudy Giuliani (above) has said that Donald Trump re-paid Michael Cohen $130,000 after the personal attorney made the initial hush money payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with the president over a decade ago
Giuliani's facial expressions suggest he realizes he made a mistake in revealing the reimbursement
Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, said Giuliani's comments were a 'stunning revelation' and that Trump 'evidently participated in a felony.'
Avenatti told MSNBC immediately after the Giuliani revelations that Trump may be guilty of money laundering, campaign finance violations, and fraud by paying Cohen back in small increments over the course of several months.
'That's a serious, serious problem,' Avenatti said.
'It's a violation of federal law. It's a criminal act to do that.'
After the interview with Hannity, Giuliani was asked by The Wall Street Journal if his comments on Fox put the president in legal jeopardy.
'[Trump] paid [Cohen] back,' Giuliani told the Journal.
'No campaign finance violations, no crime of any kind. Michael had discretion to solve these.'
Cohen faces a criminal probe into his business affairs by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, including over the $130,000 payment, which he has called legal.
The payment was made to Daniels, an adult film actress who was paid to never speak about an alleged affair with Trump.
Daniels has since sued Trump and Cohen claiming that the non-disclosure agreement she signed was invalid.
Trump recently claimed that he had no knowledge of the $130,000 payment to Daniels.
He has claimed that Cohen made the payment on his own without his knowledge.
Giuliani told Hannity that the $130,000 payment was 'a very regular thing for lawyers to do.'
+12
The statement by Giuliani contradicts Trump's denial last month that he had any knowledge of Cohen's initial payment to Daniels. Daniels is seen above in downtown Pittsburgh late Wednesday being escorted to a club by a bodyguard
+12
Trump has denied allegations that he had an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford
+12
+12
Giuliani told Hannity that the $130,000 payment was 'a very regular thing for lawyers to do.' Daniels is seen left and Cohen is seen right
Giuliani continued: 'Everybody was nervous about this from the very beginning. I wasn't...
'When I heard Cohen's retainer of $35,000, when he was doing no work for the president, I said, 'That's how he's repaying it, with a little profit and a little margin for paying taxes, for Michael'.'
Giuliani said that the president 'didn't know about the specifics of it (the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels), as far as I know.
'But he did know about the general arrangement that Michael would take care of things like this.'
+12
Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti (seen above on CNN on Wednesday), said Giuliani's comments were a 'stunning revelation' and that Trump 'evidently participated in a felony'
Daniels claims she had sex with Trump in 2006, months after his third wife gave birth to his youngest child.
She was paid $130,000 by Cohen before the 2016 election to keep quiet about the allegations.
Trump has denied having sex with Daniels.
Daniels' lawyer, Avenatti, called the comment 'a stunning revelation.'
+12
+12
'Mr. Trump evidently has participated in a felony and there must be serious consequences for his conduct and his lies and deception to the American people,' he said.
'I am absolutely speechless at this revelation... This is an outrage what has gone on here. The American people have been lied to about this agreement.'
During the interview on Hannity, Giuliani also dubbed Hillary Clinton a 'criminal' and called fired FBI Director James Comey 'a disgraceful liar' and a 'pervert'.
Appearing on CNN later in the evening on Wednesday, Avenatti said: 'I said it weeks ago. I'm going to say it again. Mr. Trump will not serve his term. No way, no how. He will be forced to ultimately resign.'
Avenatti tweeted late Wednesday: 'We predicted months ago that it would be proven that the American people had been lied to as to the $130k payment and what Mr. Trump knew, when he knew it and what he did in connection with it.
Rudy Giuliani's claim that President Trump reimbursed Michael Cohen for the $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels 'over the course of months' could land the president in hot legal water.
Title 31 of US Code 5313 requires that any cash transactions exceeding $10,000 be reported to the federal government by way of a Currency Transaction Report.
This is done in order to combat money laundering and other financial crimes.
The act of breaking up large transactions into smaller ones just to avoid filing a CTR - which is known as 'structuring' - is illegal.
CTRs are given to the IRS so that the identities of the individuals making the transactions are known.
The maximum penalty for 'structuring' is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican House speaker in history, pleaded guilty in 2015 to structuring, which is a form of money laundering that involves withdrawing a large sum of money in small increments to avoid detection.
The lawmaker was taking the money out of his bank accounts to pay a promised $3.5million in compensation for pain and suffering to one of his five sexual abuse victims of wrestlers he coached, he admitted in his plea agreement and at his sentencing hearing.
The payment to Daniels has raised numerous legal questions, including whether it was an illegal campaign contribution and, now, loan.
'If this is true then it looks like Cohen may have made an unreported loan to the campaign rather than a contribution,' said Richard L. Hasen, an expert in election law at the University of California, Irvine.
He said that might be better for Cohen, but not for Trump, because it undermines the argument that Cohen was acting independently.
'The greatest significance is that it implicates the president directly,' he said.
Law firms advance expenses for clients as a matter of course, and so there's nothing inherently improper about a lawyer covering a particular payment and then being reimbursed for it.
In this case, though, the client who apparently reimbursed the expense was running for president and the money was paid just days before the election, raising questions about whether Cohen's law practice was functioning as a vendor for the campaign and whether the expense was therefore an unreported campaign expenditure.
If so, that could be legally problematic.
Andrew Herman, an attorney specializing in campaign finance law at Miller & Chevalier, said Giuliani's argument that this was a private payment unrelated to the campaign appears to be 'pretty far-fetched' given the timing - weeks before the election while Trump was under fire for his behavior with women and for an Access Hollywood tape in which he spoke of groping women without their consent.
But if Cohen or Trump could establish that discussions with Daniels over the payment long predated his run for office, that could help them with the argument that the money was a personal rather than political expense.
'It obviously increases the president's exposure to potential campaign finance violations, but it also makes him look terrible,' said Sol Wisenberg, a defense attorney who was a deputy independent counsel during the Starr special counsel investigation into President Bill Clinton.
'I don't understand the Giuliani strategy,' he added.
'Maybe it's been too long since he's been in the criminal justice field.'
Source: US Government Publishing Office
'Every American, regardless of their politics, should be outraged by what we have now learned.
'Mr. Trump stood on AF1 and blatantly lied.
'This followed the lies told by others close to him, including Mr. Cohen.
'This should never be acceptable in our America. We will not rest until justice is served.'
Cohen's payment to the president's accuser in the weeks leading up to the presidential election could be cast as an illegal contribution but not if he were acting on the president's behest and with his money.
+12
Last month on Air Force One, Trump said he didn't know about the $130,000 payment his personal attorney made to Daniels, issuing a firm denial in his first public comments about the adult-film actress who alleges she had an affair with him
After Giuliani's interview with Hannity, Laura Ingraham, who hosts the 10pm show, said: 'They better have an explanation for that. That's a problem.'
Trump did not tweet about the revelations by Giuliani.
Instead, the president tweeted about a book written by a co-host of Fox & Friends.
He also tweeted about trade talks with China.
Giuliani later told The Washington Post that he spoke with Trump late Wednesday and that the president approved of his interview.
Giuliani said Trump was 'very pleased' and that he knew he was going to raise the matter of the reimbursement.
Rudy Giuliani's revelation that President Donald Trump reimbursed his personal attorney for a $130,000 payment to a porn star to keep her quiet about an alleged affair is raising new legal questions, including whether the president and his campaign violated campaign finance laws.
The former New York City mayor insisted on Fox News Channel Wednesday night that the payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels was 'going to turn out to be perfectly legal.'
'That money was not campaign money. Sorry, I'm giving you a fact now that you don't know. It's not campaign money, no campaign finance violation,' he said.
Some legal experts disagree. A look at some of the issues at play:
TIMING
Giuliani's insistence the money had nothing to do with the campaign is complicated by the fact that Daniels' silence was secured just days before the 2016 presidential election, and as Trump was dealing with the fallout from the 'Access Hollywood' tape in which he bragged about sexually assaulting women.
If the payment were wholly personal, said Richard L. Hasen, an expert in election law at the University of California, Irvine, there would be no campaign finance violations.
But Giuliani's argument that the payment was unrelated to the campaign appears to be 'pretty far-fetched' given the timing, said Andrew Herman, an attorney specializing in campaign finance law at Miller & Chevalier.
+12
Tight: Donald Trump meets with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the clubhouse of the Trump National Golf Club November 20, 2016 in Bedminster, New Jersey
'Certainly, the argument that the government will make is that the $130,000 payment from Michael Cohen to Daniels was a loan to the Trump campaign to keep these allegations secret obviously and then Trump paying Cohen back would be a campaign expenditure' — a loan and expenditure that should have been disclosed to the Federal Election Commission, he said.
DISCLOSURE:
All campaign expenses, including payments and loans, are supposed to be disclosed to the FEC.
Hasen said the question before Wednesday had been whether Cohen had made an unreported contribution to the Trump campaign exceeding legal limits.
'If this is true, then it looks like Cohen may have made an unreported loan to the campaign rather than a contribution,' he said. That could be good news for Cohen, because it would have been up to the president or his campaign to report the loan, not up to Cohen.
'The greatest significance is that it implicates the president, directly,' he said. 'If it's done with Trump's knowledge ... then now we're talking about something that is related to the campaign and is more serious.'
Norm Eisen, who served as an ethics lawyer in the Obama White House and now chairs the left-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, which has repeatedly challenged Trump, also said Trump should have disclosed the loan on his federal financial disclosure.
'There's probably a sufficient basis for DOJ to open another investigation about whether the president was candid on his personal financial disclosure,' he said.
WHY GO THERE?
It wasn't immediately clear what Giuliani sought to gain with the admission.
Eisen suggested it might have something to do with the fact that Cohen is under criminal investigation in New York. FBI agents also raided his home and office several weeks ago seeking records about the nondisclosure agreement.
'I think the other intention here apparently was to tear the Band-Aid off and to get out in public whatever Cohen might offer should he choose to cooperate,' speculated Eisen.
Sol Wisenberg, a defense attorney who was a deputy independent counsel during the Starr special counsel investigation into President Bill Clinton, said the comment 'obviously increases the president's exposure to potential campaign finance violations, but it also makes him look terrible.'
'I don't understand the Giuliani strategy,' he added. 'Maybe it's been too long since he's been in the criminal justice field.'
'Oh, yeah, yeah. Sure, sure,' Giuliani told the Post.
'He was well-aware that at some point when I saw the opportunity, I was going to get this over with.'
When Giuliani was asked by the Post if he thought Trump would fire him, he laughed.
'No! no! no! I'm not going to get fired,' said Giuliani.
'But if I do, I do. It wouldn't be the first time it ever happened. But I don't think so, no.'
Last month on Air Force One, Trump said he didn't know about the $130,000 payment his personal attorney made to Daniels, issuing a firm denial in his first public comments about the adult-film actress who alleges she had an affair with him.
Trump also said he didn't know why his longtime lawyer had made the payment.
Strangely enough, Trump did not tweet about the revelations by Giuliani. Instead, the president tweeted about a book written by a co-host of Fox & Friends
He also tweeted about trade talks with China
Asked why Cohen wrote the six-figure check, Trump said: 'You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney.'
But the president ignored a question about whether he had set up a fund for Cohen to draw on for such purposes.
Cohen has said that he took out a home equity line of credit to withdraw the money, and that he never told then-candidate Trump about it.
Daniels on Monday sued Trump for defamation, saying he lied by tweeting that her claim of being threatened if she discussed an alleged sexual encounter with him was a 'total con job.'
Giuliani also told Hannity on Wednesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should end Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
+12
Giuliani also lashed out at James Comey, calling the former FBI chief 'a disgraceful liar'
Giuliani said the Mueller probe should be shut down 'in the interest of justice.'
'There's been too much government misconduct,' the former New York mayor said.
'The crimes now have all been committed by the government and their agents.'
Giuliani also lashed out at Comey, calling the former FBI chief 'a disgraceful liar.'
Echoing Trump, Giuliani said Comey should be prosecuted for leaking classified information.
Comey gave memos of his conversations with Trump to members of his legal team as well as other associates, who then revealed their contents to the press.
Comey has said the materials were not classified and that he broke no laws.
'I have never, ever... leaked a damn thing [when I was a federal prosecutor],' said Giuliani.
'I would have considered resigning if I ever did that.'
Giuliani said that Trump fired Comey last year because the then-FBI director refused to say that the president was not being investigated.
'Comey would not, among other things, say that [Trump] wasn't a target of the [Russia] investigation,' Giuliani said.
'He's entitled to that. Hillary Clinton got that [during the email investigation.] And he couldn't get that.'
Giuliani was apparently referring to Comey's decision not to recommend charges in the investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.
+12
Giuliani also warned that if Mueller goes after Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, 'the whole country will turn on [the special counsel and his team]'. He also said Jared Kushner, Ivanka's husband, was 'disposable'
'You can't blame the president for feeling, 'I am not being treated the same way [Clinton was]',' Giuliani said.
He also warned that if Mueller goes after Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, 'the whole country will turn on [the special counsel and his team].'
Giuliani said he would 'get on my charger and go ride into [Mueller and his team's] offices with a lance if they go after Ivanka.
'Now, if they do do Ivanka, which I doubt they will, the whole country will turn on them. They're going after his daughter?'
In a comment that raised eyebrows, Giuliani said Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner, was 'disposable' because he is a man.
[Kushner is a] fine man, you know that, but men are disposable. But a fine woman like Ivanka? Come on.'
[size=34]Shock as Rudy Giuliani says Trump REPAID Michael Cohen $130,000 hush money to Stormy Daniels - contradicting President's claim that he didn't know about payment[/size]
- Cohen gave porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in hush money before the 2016 election
- Daniels has claimed that the money was meant to keep her from revealing an alleged affair she had with Trump over a decade ago
- Giuliani said Trump reimbursed Cohen by 'funneling' the cash through a law firm over the course of 'months'
- Former NY Mayor also dubbed Hillary Clinton a 'criminal' and called James Comey a 'pervert' and a 'disgraceful liar'
- Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, said Giuliani's comments were a 'stunning revelation' and that Trump 'evidently participated in a felony'
- Trump may have violated laws against 'structuring' - or making payments in increments in order to avoid reporting them to the federal government
By ARIEL ZILBER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and REUTERS and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 22:06 EDT, 2 May 2018 | UPDATED: 04:51 EDT, 3 May 2018
Rudy Giuliani has sensationally revealed that Donald Trump repaid Michael Cohen $130,000 after the personal attorney shelled out the hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Giuliani, who has joined Trump's legal team in recent weeks, made the statement during an interview with Sean Hannity on the Fox News Channel late Wednesday.
The statement contradicts Trump's denial last month that he had any knowledge of Cohen's initial payment to Daniels.
'Having something having to do with paying some Stormy Daniels woman $130,000 – I mean which going to turn out to be perfectly legal,' Giuliani said.
'That money was not campaign money, sorry.
'They funneled through the law firm and the president repaid it.'
+12
Rudy Giuliani (above) has said that Donald Trump re-paid Michael Cohen $130,000 after the personal attorney made the initial hush money payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with the president over a decade ago
Giuliani's facial expressions suggest he realizes he made a mistake in revealing the reimbursement
Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, said Giuliani's comments were a 'stunning revelation' and that Trump 'evidently participated in a felony.'
Avenatti told MSNBC immediately after the Giuliani revelations that Trump may be guilty of money laundering, campaign finance violations, and fraud by paying Cohen back in small increments over the course of several months.
'That's a serious, serious problem,' Avenatti said.
'It's a violation of federal law. It's a criminal act to do that.'
After the interview with Hannity, Giuliani was asked by The Wall Street Journal if his comments on Fox put the president in legal jeopardy.
'[Trump] paid [Cohen] back,' Giuliani told the Journal.
'No campaign finance violations, no crime of any kind. Michael had discretion to solve these.'
Cohen faces a criminal probe into his business affairs by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, including over the $130,000 payment, which he has called legal.
The payment was made to Daniels, an adult film actress who was paid to never speak about an alleged affair with Trump.
Daniels has since sued Trump and Cohen claiming that the non-disclosure agreement she signed was invalid.
Trump recently claimed that he had no knowledge of the $130,000 payment to Daniels.
He has claimed that Cohen made the payment on his own without his knowledge.
Giuliani told Hannity that the $130,000 payment was 'a very regular thing for lawyers to do.'
+12
The statement by Giuliani contradicts Trump's denial last month that he had any knowledge of Cohen's initial payment to Daniels. Daniels is seen above in downtown Pittsburgh late Wednesday being escorted to a club by a bodyguard
+12
Trump has denied allegations that he had an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford
+12
+12
Giuliani told Hannity that the $130,000 payment was 'a very regular thing for lawyers to do.' Daniels is seen left and Cohen is seen right
Giuliani continued: 'Everybody was nervous about this from the very beginning. I wasn't...
'When I heard Cohen's retainer of $35,000, when he was doing no work for the president, I said, 'That's how he's repaying it, with a little profit and a little margin for paying taxes, for Michael'.'
Giuliani said that the president 'didn't know about the specifics of it (the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels), as far as I know.
'But he did know about the general arrangement that Michael would take care of things like this.'
+12
Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti (seen above on CNN on Wednesday), said Giuliani's comments were a 'stunning revelation' and that Trump 'evidently participated in a felony'
Daniels claims she had sex with Trump in 2006, months after his third wife gave birth to his youngest child.
She was paid $130,000 by Cohen before the 2016 election to keep quiet about the allegations.
Trump has denied having sex with Daniels.
Daniels' lawyer, Avenatti, called the comment 'a stunning revelation.'
+12
+12
'Mr. Trump evidently has participated in a felony and there must be serious consequences for his conduct and his lies and deception to the American people,' he said.
'I am absolutely speechless at this revelation... This is an outrage what has gone on here. The American people have been lied to about this agreement.'
During the interview on Hannity, Giuliani also dubbed Hillary Clinton a 'criminal' and called fired FBI Director James Comey 'a disgraceful liar' and a 'pervert'.
Appearing on CNN later in the evening on Wednesday, Avenatti said: 'I said it weeks ago. I'm going to say it again. Mr. Trump will not serve his term. No way, no how. He will be forced to ultimately resign.'
Avenatti tweeted late Wednesday: 'We predicted months ago that it would be proven that the American people had been lied to as to the $130k payment and what Mr. Trump knew, when he knew it and what he did in connection with it.
[size=34]DID TRUMP BREAK THE LAW BY RE-PAYING COHEN IN INCREMENTS?[/size]
Rudy Giuliani's claim that President Trump reimbursed Michael Cohen for the $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels 'over the course of months' could land the president in hot legal water.
Title 31 of US Code 5313 requires that any cash transactions exceeding $10,000 be reported to the federal government by way of a Currency Transaction Report.
This is done in order to combat money laundering and other financial crimes.
The act of breaking up large transactions into smaller ones just to avoid filing a CTR - which is known as 'structuring' - is illegal.
CTRs are given to the IRS so that the identities of the individuals making the transactions are known.
The maximum penalty for 'structuring' is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican House speaker in history, pleaded guilty in 2015 to structuring, which is a form of money laundering that involves withdrawing a large sum of money in small increments to avoid detection.
The lawmaker was taking the money out of his bank accounts to pay a promised $3.5million in compensation for pain and suffering to one of his five sexual abuse victims of wrestlers he coached, he admitted in his plea agreement and at his sentencing hearing.
The payment to Daniels has raised numerous legal questions, including whether it was an illegal campaign contribution and, now, loan.
'If this is true then it looks like Cohen may have made an unreported loan to the campaign rather than a contribution,' said Richard L. Hasen, an expert in election law at the University of California, Irvine.
He said that might be better for Cohen, but not for Trump, because it undermines the argument that Cohen was acting independently.
'The greatest significance is that it implicates the president directly,' he said.
Law firms advance expenses for clients as a matter of course, and so there's nothing inherently improper about a lawyer covering a particular payment and then being reimbursed for it.
In this case, though, the client who apparently reimbursed the expense was running for president and the money was paid just days before the election, raising questions about whether Cohen's law practice was functioning as a vendor for the campaign and whether the expense was therefore an unreported campaign expenditure.
If so, that could be legally problematic.
Andrew Herman, an attorney specializing in campaign finance law at Miller & Chevalier, said Giuliani's argument that this was a private payment unrelated to the campaign appears to be 'pretty far-fetched' given the timing - weeks before the election while Trump was under fire for his behavior with women and for an Access Hollywood tape in which he spoke of groping women without their consent.
But if Cohen or Trump could establish that discussions with Daniels over the payment long predated his run for office, that could help them with the argument that the money was a personal rather than political expense.
'It obviously increases the president's exposure to potential campaign finance violations, but it also makes him look terrible,' said Sol Wisenberg, a defense attorney who was a deputy independent counsel during the Starr special counsel investigation into President Bill Clinton.
'I don't understand the Giuliani strategy,' he added.
'Maybe it's been too long since he's been in the criminal justice field.'
Source: US Government Publishing Office
'Every American, regardless of their politics, should be outraged by what we have now learned.
'Mr. Trump stood on AF1 and blatantly lied.
'This followed the lies told by others close to him, including Mr. Cohen.
'This should never be acceptable in our America. We will not rest until justice is served.'
Cohen's payment to the president's accuser in the weeks leading up to the presidential election could be cast as an illegal contribution but not if he were acting on the president's behest and with his money.
+12
Last month on Air Force One, Trump said he didn't know about the $130,000 payment his personal attorney made to Daniels, issuing a firm denial in his first public comments about the adult-film actress who alleges she had an affair with him
After Giuliani's interview with Hannity, Laura Ingraham, who hosts the 10pm show, said: 'They better have an explanation for that. That's a problem.'
Trump did not tweet about the revelations by Giuliani.
Instead, the president tweeted about a book written by a co-host of Fox & Friends.
He also tweeted about trade talks with China.
Giuliani later told The Washington Post that he spoke with Trump late Wednesday and that the president approved of his interview.
Giuliani said Trump was 'very pleased' and that he knew he was going to raise the matter of the reimbursement.
[size=34]WHY DID GIULIANI GO THERE?[/size]
Rudy Giuliani's revelation that President Donald Trump reimbursed his personal attorney for a $130,000 payment to a porn star to keep her quiet about an alleged affair is raising new legal questions, including whether the president and his campaign violated campaign finance laws.
The former New York City mayor insisted on Fox News Channel Wednesday night that the payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels was 'going to turn out to be perfectly legal.'
'That money was not campaign money. Sorry, I'm giving you a fact now that you don't know. It's not campaign money, no campaign finance violation,' he said.
Some legal experts disagree. A look at some of the issues at play:
TIMING
Giuliani's insistence the money had nothing to do with the campaign is complicated by the fact that Daniels' silence was secured just days before the 2016 presidential election, and as Trump was dealing with the fallout from the 'Access Hollywood' tape in which he bragged about sexually assaulting women.
If the payment were wholly personal, said Richard L. Hasen, an expert in election law at the University of California, Irvine, there would be no campaign finance violations.
But Giuliani's argument that the payment was unrelated to the campaign appears to be 'pretty far-fetched' given the timing, said Andrew Herman, an attorney specializing in campaign finance law at Miller & Chevalier.
+12
Tight: Donald Trump meets with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the clubhouse of the Trump National Golf Club November 20, 2016 in Bedminster, New Jersey
'Certainly, the argument that the government will make is that the $130,000 payment from Michael Cohen to Daniels was a loan to the Trump campaign to keep these allegations secret obviously and then Trump paying Cohen back would be a campaign expenditure' — a loan and expenditure that should have been disclosed to the Federal Election Commission, he said.
DISCLOSURE:
All campaign expenses, including payments and loans, are supposed to be disclosed to the FEC.
Hasen said the question before Wednesday had been whether Cohen had made an unreported contribution to the Trump campaign exceeding legal limits.
'If this is true, then it looks like Cohen may have made an unreported loan to the campaign rather than a contribution,' he said. That could be good news for Cohen, because it would have been up to the president or his campaign to report the loan, not up to Cohen.
'The greatest significance is that it implicates the president, directly,' he said. 'If it's done with Trump's knowledge ... then now we're talking about something that is related to the campaign and is more serious.'
Norm Eisen, who served as an ethics lawyer in the Obama White House and now chairs the left-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, which has repeatedly challenged Trump, also said Trump should have disclosed the loan on his federal financial disclosure.
'There's probably a sufficient basis for DOJ to open another investigation about whether the president was candid on his personal financial disclosure,' he said.
WHY GO THERE?
It wasn't immediately clear what Giuliani sought to gain with the admission.
Eisen suggested it might have something to do with the fact that Cohen is under criminal investigation in New York. FBI agents also raided his home and office several weeks ago seeking records about the nondisclosure agreement.
'I think the other intention here apparently was to tear the Band-Aid off and to get out in public whatever Cohen might offer should he choose to cooperate,' speculated Eisen.
Sol Wisenberg, a defense attorney who was a deputy independent counsel during the Starr special counsel investigation into President Bill Clinton, said the comment 'obviously increases the president's exposure to potential campaign finance violations, but it also makes him look terrible.'
'I don't understand the Giuliani strategy,' he added. 'Maybe it's been too long since he's been in the criminal justice field.'
'Oh, yeah, yeah. Sure, sure,' Giuliani told the Post.
'He was well-aware that at some point when I saw the opportunity, I was going to get this over with.'
When Giuliani was asked by the Post if he thought Trump would fire him, he laughed.
'No! no! no! I'm not going to get fired,' said Giuliani.
'But if I do, I do. It wouldn't be the first time it ever happened. But I don't think so, no.'
Last month on Air Force One, Trump said he didn't know about the $130,000 payment his personal attorney made to Daniels, issuing a firm denial in his first public comments about the adult-film actress who alleges she had an affair with him.
Trump also said he didn't know why his longtime lawyer had made the payment.
Strangely enough, Trump did not tweet about the revelations by Giuliani. Instead, the president tweeted about a book written by a co-host of Fox & Friends
He also tweeted about trade talks with China
Asked why Cohen wrote the six-figure check, Trump said: 'You'll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney.'
But the president ignored a question about whether he had set up a fund for Cohen to draw on for such purposes.
Cohen has said that he took out a home equity line of credit to withdraw the money, and that he never told then-candidate Trump about it.
Daniels on Monday sued Trump for defamation, saying he lied by tweeting that her claim of being threatened if she discussed an alleged sexual encounter with him was a 'total con job.'
Giuliani also told Hannity on Wednesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should end Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
+12
Giuliani also lashed out at James Comey, calling the former FBI chief 'a disgraceful liar'
Giuliani said the Mueller probe should be shut down 'in the interest of justice.'
'There's been too much government misconduct,' the former New York mayor said.
'The crimes now have all been committed by the government and their agents.'
Giuliani also lashed out at Comey, calling the former FBI chief 'a disgraceful liar.'
Echoing Trump, Giuliani said Comey should be prosecuted for leaking classified information.
Comey gave memos of his conversations with Trump to members of his legal team as well as other associates, who then revealed their contents to the press.
Comey has said the materials were not classified and that he broke no laws.
'I have never, ever... leaked a damn thing [when I was a federal prosecutor],' said Giuliani.
'I would have considered resigning if I ever did that.'
Giuliani said that Trump fired Comey last year because the then-FBI director refused to say that the president was not being investigated.
'Comey would not, among other things, say that [Trump] wasn't a target of the [Russia] investigation,' Giuliani said.
'He's entitled to that. Hillary Clinton got that [during the email investigation.] And he couldn't get that.'
Giuliani was apparently referring to Comey's decision not to recommend charges in the investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.
+12
Giuliani also warned that if Mueller goes after Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, 'the whole country will turn on [the special counsel and his team]'. He also said Jared Kushner, Ivanka's husband, was 'disposable'
'You can't blame the president for feeling, 'I am not being treated the same way [Clinton was]',' Giuliani said.
He also warned that if Mueller goes after Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, 'the whole country will turn on [the special counsel and his team].'
Giuliani said he would 'get on my charger and go ride into [Mueller and his team's] offices with a lance if they go after Ivanka.
'Now, if they do do Ivanka, which I doubt they will, the whole country will turn on them. They're going after his daughter?'
In a comment that raised eyebrows, Giuliani said Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner, was 'disposable' because he is a man.
[Kushner is a] fine man, you know that, but men are disposable. But a fine woman like Ivanka? Come on.'
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by Donnamarie Thu 03 May 2018, 14:59
What the hell happened to Rudy Giuliani? Is this the same guy who used to run NYC and helped that city heal through the 9/11 terrorist attack? He’s a total disaster now!
Donnamarie- Possibly more Clooney than George himself
- Posts : 5881
Join date : 2014-08-26
Location : Washington, DC
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by LizzyNY Thu 03 May 2018, 15:11
Donnamarie - Nothing happened to Rudy Giuliani. He's the same as he was when he was mayor of NYC. The one time he stepped up and made us proud was after 9/11. Otherwise he was not the most popular person in town.
LizzyNY- Casamigos with Mr Clooney
- Posts : 8167
Join date : 2013-08-28
Location : NY, USA
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Thu 03 May 2018, 16:53
I may be the odd one out , but I don't think he did anything any other mayor wouldn't have done under the circumstances.
What was he supposed to do leave the city. He has always been an idiot .
What was he supposed to do leave the city. He has always been an idiot .
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by Donnamarie Thu 03 May 2018, 19:55
Well you New York ladies would know best. I guess sometime in his early career he was a decent attorney. But now he just comes across as incredibly dim and out of touch.
Donnamarie- Possibly more Clooney than George himself
- Posts : 5881
Join date : 2014-08-26
Location : Washington, DC
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Fri 04 May 2018, 00:13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5688753/President-Trump-signs-order-create-faith-based-office-White-House.html
[size=34]President Trump signs order to create a faith-based office in the White House to 'protect religious freedom'[/size]
By GERMANIA RODRIGUEZ FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 17:16 EDT, 3 May 2018 | UPDATED: 18:21 EDT, 3 May 2018
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to establish a faith-based office with the goal of protecting religious freedom, he announced on Thursday.
The White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative will ensure 'the faith-based and community organizations that form the bedrock of our society have strong advocates in the White House and throughout the federal government,' Trump said at the Rose Garden during the White House's annual National Day of Prayer ceremony.
The president added: 'Prayer has always been at the center of the American life. America is a nation of believers, and together we are strengthened by the power of prayer.'
One of Trump's top faith advisers said the office's aim was a culture shift to minimize conversations about church-state barriers 'without all of these arbitrary concerns as to what is appropriate,' according to the Washington Post.
+3
President Trump signed an executive order to establish a faith-based office with the goal of protecting religious freedom on Thursday
The office will make recommendations to the Trump administration and inform them of 'any failures of the executive branch to comply with religious liberty protections under law.'
It will also expand government grants to make sure faith-based groups have 'equal access to government funding and equal right to exercise their deeply held beliefs.'
Johnnie Moore, a spokesman for Trump's evangelical advisory group, said the office will have an emphasis on prison reform, education, mental health and 'strengthening families.'
A newly-appointed White House adviser will lead the effort, which will be supported by religious leaders outside the government.
'We take this step because we know that in solving the many many problems and our great challenges, faith is more powerful than government and nothing is more powerful than god,' the president said.
Trump also told the crowd at the Rose Garden that he is to thank for people saying 'Merry Christmas' more and being more open about prayer.
+3
The White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative will ensure 'the faith-based and community organizations have strong advocates in the federal government'
+3
Trump also told the crowd at the Rose Garden that he's to thank for people saying 'Merry Christmas' more and being more open about prayer
He said: 'Don't you notice a big difference between two or three years ago and now? Now it's straight up.'
The Clinton administration had a similar office in the 1990s and faced legal challenges, with groups fighting to guard Constitutional protections against government-backed religion, as the Post points out. However, Trump is the first president to present such an office with such a homogeneously Christian group of advisers.
During last year's National Day of Prayer Trump cited 'religious liberty' when he signed an executive order to allow the IRS to opt out of the Johnson Amendment, which bans nonprofit groups from engaging in political campaign.
The 2017 executive order also allowed organizations to opt out Obamacare's requirement that they provide contraception care on religious grounds.
Trump's announcement on the White House faith-based office comes as the president admitted he paid his personal lawyer Michael Cohen back the $330,000 he paid to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair.
[size=34]President Trump signs order to create a faith-based office in the White House to 'protect religious freedom'[/size]
- President Trump signed the executive order on Thursday
- It was during the White House's annual National Day of Prayer ceremony
- The White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative will ensure 'the faith-based and community organizations have strong advocates in the federal government'
- It will expand government grants to make sure faith-based groups have 'equal access to government funds and the right to exercise their deeply held beliefs'
- Trump also told the crowd at the Rose Garden that he is to thank for people saying 'Merry Christmas' more and being more open about prayer
By GERMANIA RODRIGUEZ FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 17:16 EDT, 3 May 2018 | UPDATED: 18:21 EDT, 3 May 2018
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to establish a faith-based office with the goal of protecting religious freedom, he announced on Thursday.
The White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative will ensure 'the faith-based and community organizations that form the bedrock of our society have strong advocates in the White House and throughout the federal government,' Trump said at the Rose Garden during the White House's annual National Day of Prayer ceremony.
The president added: 'Prayer has always been at the center of the American life. America is a nation of believers, and together we are strengthened by the power of prayer.'
One of Trump's top faith advisers said the office's aim was a culture shift to minimize conversations about church-state barriers 'without all of these arbitrary concerns as to what is appropriate,' according to the Washington Post.
+3
President Trump signed an executive order to establish a faith-based office with the goal of protecting religious freedom on Thursday
The office will make recommendations to the Trump administration and inform them of 'any failures of the executive branch to comply with religious liberty protections under law.'
It will also expand government grants to make sure faith-based groups have 'equal access to government funding and equal right to exercise their deeply held beliefs.'
Johnnie Moore, a spokesman for Trump's evangelical advisory group, said the office will have an emphasis on prison reform, education, mental health and 'strengthening families.'
A newly-appointed White House adviser will lead the effort, which will be supported by religious leaders outside the government.
'We take this step because we know that in solving the many many problems and our great challenges, faith is more powerful than government and nothing is more powerful than god,' the president said.
Trump also told the crowd at the Rose Garden that he is to thank for people saying 'Merry Christmas' more and being more open about prayer.
+3
The White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative will ensure 'the faith-based and community organizations have strong advocates in the federal government'
+3
Trump also told the crowd at the Rose Garden that he's to thank for people saying 'Merry Christmas' more and being more open about prayer
He said: 'Don't you notice a big difference between two or three years ago and now? Now it's straight up.'
The Clinton administration had a similar office in the 1990s and faced legal challenges, with groups fighting to guard Constitutional protections against government-backed religion, as the Post points out. However, Trump is the first president to present such an office with such a homogeneously Christian group of advisers.
During last year's National Day of Prayer Trump cited 'religious liberty' when he signed an executive order to allow the IRS to opt out of the Johnson Amendment, which bans nonprofit groups from engaging in political campaign.
The 2017 executive order also allowed organizations to opt out Obamacare's requirement that they provide contraception care on religious grounds.
Trump's announcement on the White House faith-based office comes as the president admitted he paid his personal lawyer Michael Cohen back the $330,000 he paid to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Fri 04 May 2018, 09:42
http://people.com/politics/trump-kanye-west-colin-kaepernick-summit-race/
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, MELANIA AND TIFFANY ARRIVE FOR EASTER MASS
MELANIA TRUMP INVITED WHITE HOUSE STAFFERS TO BARBARA BUSH FUNERAL SO THEY COULD 'PAY THEIR RESPECTS'
DONALD TRUMP WILL SKIP BARBARA BUSH'S FUNERAL AND SEND WIFE MELANIA TO 'AVOID DISRUPTIONS'
DIANE HERBST
May 03, 2018 08:39 PM
President Donald Trump has given the green light to multiple meetings with athletes and musical artists to discuss race, Cleveland-based pastor Darrell Scott, an outside adviser to the White House adviser, tells PEOPLE.
“He is 100 percent for it,” says Scott, who spoke with Trump for about 20 minutes in the Oval Office following an outdoor ceremony at the White House for Thursday’s National Day of Prayer. “He was very enthusiastic about it.”
Kanye West, who recently had a Twitter love-fest with Trump, has been invited, says Scott, along with former NFL star Colin Kaepernick and other athletes and musicians of multiple races and ethnicities.
“It’s not going to be a black-only event,” says Scott. “It will be a melting pot.”
Kaepernick, of course, is the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who famously initiated a wave of protests by professional athletes in 2016 when he knelt during the national anthem before NFL games as a protest against injustice against African-Americans, especially police shootings of unarmed black men and teens. Trump, as a presidential candidate, vilified Kaepernick, saying, “Maybe he should find a country that works better for him.” And later, as president, Trump said players who kneel for the anthem should be fired.
While details of the meetings will be ironed out next week, it’s expected that there be a musicians’ summit followed by a gathering of athletes in the early summer—with both held at the White House, says Scott. The idea had been on the drawing board “for quite some time now” and got a boost following last week’s Trump-West Twitter exchange, the pastor adds.
Scott expects Trump will be in attendance. “We don’t want to sanitize it. I want people from the left to attend. I want it to get heated but I want it to be respectful,” says Scott.
“I want them to see and know the Donald Trump I know and they will say, ‘This guy isn’t who I’ve been lead to believe he is.'”
Scott says he’s also working with Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner on prison reform and on a White House-backed plan to revitalize poor urban neighborhoods. On Saturday, Scott will be meeting with Trump in Cleveland for a fundraiser and round-table on revitalization efforts, the pastor says.
Andrew Giuliani, an aide in the White House Office of Public Liaison and son of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is organizing the summits with Scott.
The pastor, who has reached out to West through an intermediary, says the singer “is aware of it and we are waiting from other artists as well.”
Jim Brown, who played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns, will be invited, as well as Evander Holyfield, Herschel Walker and Mike Tyson. Says Scott: “These are guys on the president’s side.”
In addition to his attacks on Kaepernick, Trump has been slammed for some of his statements involving race, characterizing African countries as “s-–thole countries” in a January meeting with lawmakers in the White House, and saying on the campaign trail that “African-Americans, Hispanics, are living in hell, because it’s so dangerous.”
Last August, Trump defended white nationalists rallying in Charlottesville, Va., saying some were “very fine people.” That controversial comment drew howls of protest, Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star LeBron James decrying that Trumps comments “made hate fashionable again.”
And for years, Trump falsely stated that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya. (He was born in Hawaii.)
Scott says that Trump envisions the summits as a healing mechanism. “The president said that this will go a long way in bringing everybody together,” he says. “He wants to bring this nation together.”
[size=40]President Trump Wants Colin Kaepernick, Quarterback He Vilified, and Kanye West for Summit on Race
[url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump-kanye-west-colin-kaepernick-summit-race%2F&media=https%3A%2F%2Fpeopledotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2018%2F05%2Ftrump-kaepernick.jpg&description=President Trump Wants Colin Kaepernick%2C Quarterback He Vilified%2C and Kanye West for Summit on Race][/url][url=https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=President Trump Wants Colin Kaepernick%2C Quarterback He Vilified%2C and Kanye West for Summit on Race http://people.com/politics/trump-kanye-west-colin-kaepernick-summit-race/ via @people][/url][/size]
[url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump-kanye-west-colin-kaepernick-summit-race%2F&media=https%3A%2F%2Fpeopledotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2018%2F05%2Ftrump-kaepernick.jpg&description=President Trump Wants Colin Kaepernick%2C Quarterback He Vilified%2C and Kanye West for Summit on Race][/url][url=https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=President Trump Wants Colin Kaepernick%2C Quarterback He Vilified%2C and Kanye West for Summit on Race http://people.com/politics/trump-kanye-west-colin-kaepernick-summit-race/ via @people][/url][/size]
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, MELANIA AND TIFFANY ARRIVE FOR EASTER MASS
MELANIA TRUMP INVITED WHITE HOUSE STAFFERS TO BARBARA BUSH FUNERAL SO THEY COULD 'PAY THEIR RESPECTS'
DONALD TRUMP WILL SKIP BARBARA BUSH'S FUNERAL AND SEND WIFE MELANIA TO 'AVOID DISRUPTIONS'
DIANE HERBST
May 03, 2018 08:39 PM
President Donald Trump has given the green light to multiple meetings with athletes and musical artists to discuss race, Cleveland-based pastor Darrell Scott, an outside adviser to the White House adviser, tells PEOPLE.
“He is 100 percent for it,” says Scott, who spoke with Trump for about 20 minutes in the Oval Office following an outdoor ceremony at the White House for Thursday’s National Day of Prayer. “He was very enthusiastic about it.”
Kanye West, who recently had a Twitter love-fest with Trump, has been invited, says Scott, along with former NFL star Colin Kaepernick and other athletes and musicians of multiple races and ethnicities.
“It’s not going to be a black-only event,” says Scott. “It will be a melting pot.”
Kaepernick, of course, is the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who famously initiated a wave of protests by professional athletes in 2016 when he knelt during the national anthem before NFL games as a protest against injustice against African-Americans, especially police shootings of unarmed black men and teens. Trump, as a presidential candidate, vilified Kaepernick, saying, “Maybe he should find a country that works better for him.” And later, as president, Trump said players who kneel for the anthem should be fired.
While details of the meetings will be ironed out next week, it’s expected that there be a musicians’ summit followed by a gathering of athletes in the early summer—with both held at the White House, says Scott. The idea had been on the drawing board “for quite some time now” and got a boost following last week’s Trump-West Twitter exchange, the pastor adds.
Scott expects Trump will be in attendance. “We don’t want to sanitize it. I want people from the left to attend. I want it to get heated but I want it to be respectful,” says Scott.
“I want them to see and know the Donald Trump I know and they will say, ‘This guy isn’t who I’ve been lead to believe he is.'”
Scott says he’s also working with Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner on prison reform and on a White House-backed plan to revitalize poor urban neighborhoods. On Saturday, Scott will be meeting with Trump in Cleveland for a fundraiser and round-table on revitalization efforts, the pastor says.
E
Andrew Giuliani, an aide in the White House Office of Public Liaison and son of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is organizing the summits with Scott.
The pastor, who has reached out to West through an intermediary, says the singer “is aware of it and we are waiting from other artists as well.”
Jim Brown, who played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns, will be invited, as well as Evander Holyfield, Herschel Walker and Mike Tyson. Says Scott: “These are guys on the president’s side.”
In addition to his attacks on Kaepernick, Trump has been slammed for some of his statements involving race, characterizing African countries as “s-–thole countries” in a January meeting with lawmakers in the White House, and saying on the campaign trail that “African-Americans, Hispanics, are living in hell, because it’s so dangerous.”
Last August, Trump defended white nationalists rallying in Charlottesville, Va., saying some were “very fine people.” That controversial comment drew howls of protest, Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star LeBron James decrying that Trumps comments “made hate fashionable again.”
And for years, Trump falsely stated that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya. (He was born in Hawaii.)
Scott says that Trump envisions the summits as a healing mechanism. “The president said that this will go a long way in bringing everybody together,” he says. “He wants to bring this nation together.”
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Fri 04 May 2018, 14:38
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5691285/Now-Giuliani-claims-Trump-SURPRISED-learn-reimbursing-Cohen-Stormy-Daniels-payoff.html
[size=34]Now Giuliani claims Trump was SURPRISED to learn his payments to Michael Cohen were reimbursements for Stormy Daniels hush money – but Cohen tells friend that 'Rudy doesn't know what he's talking about'[/size]
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:16 EDT, 4 May 2018 | UPDATED: 09:20 EDT, 4 May 2018
Rudy Giuliani said Thursday that President Donald Trump had no idea his personal lawyer Michael Cohen was using part of a $35,000-per-month legal retainer as hush money for porn actress Stormy Daniels.
The former New York City mayor, who has emerged as the latest legal Trump-whisperer, said the president's lawyers gave him that information just weeks ago.
'I don't think the president realized he paid him back for that specific thing until we made him aware of the paperwork,' Giuliani said of the $130,000 payoff to Stormy Daniels.
He told NBC News that Trump responded, 'Oh my goodness, I guess that's what it was for.'
+6
Trump-whisperer Rudy Giuliani, the president's newest legal spokesman, says Trump found out only recently that he had reimbursed lawyer Michael Cohen for his hush-money payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels
+6
Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 in exchange for her silence about what she claims was a Trump affair a decade ago; Trump paid him $35,000 per month in retainers throughout all of 2017, part of which was a reimbursement
+6
NBC News analyst Willie Geist said Friday that Cohen told friend Donny Deutsch that Giuliani 'doesn't know what he's talking about'
NBC analyst Willie Geist tweeted Friday morning, however, that Cohen believes Giuliani is twisting the facts of the case.
'In a conversation last night with @DonnyDeustch, Trump attorney Michael Cohen says "Rudy Giuliani doesn't know what he's talking about",' Geist wrote.
Deutsch and Cohen have been seen dining together in the past week, and leaving the posh Barney's New York together after one lunch.
Multiple different, and sometimes seemingly contradictory, accounts of the money trail in the now famous transaction could all be true.
+6
Trump's close counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters Friday that she was unaware of the Daniels payoff, which happened in October 2016 while she was Trump's campaign manager
Cohen claims he withdrew cash from a home equity line of credit in October 2016 to pay for Daniels' silence, and later said neither the Trump presidential campaign nor the president's real estate company paid him back.
Trump said a month ago that he knew nothing about the $130,000 payoff and was unaware of where the money might have come from.
And Giuliani is now suggesting that was true at the time, and that Trump was shocked to learn the truth – that he had been paying Cohen $35,000 per month throughout all 12 months of 2017, a total of $420,000.
Trump's close counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters Friday that she was unaware of the Daniels payoff, which happened in October 2016 while she was Trump's campaign manager.
She 'never heard about that during the campaign,' she insisted. 'I was the campaign manager. A lot crossed my desk."
Conway also said she 'did not' hear about the payment last year at the White House while the reimbursements were ongoing.
+6
Giuliani revealed this week in a Fox News Channel interview , that Trump repaid Cohen – but maintained that the president found out only weeks ago
Giuliani first said Wednesday night that Trump personally refunded the Stormy Daniels hush money to Cohen through legal-retainer payments over a series of months.
+6
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Cohen in late 2016 to keep quiet over her alleged affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007
Even some legal analysts' claims that the initial payment represented a campaign finance violation – an impermissibly large 'in-kind' donation – could be off-base, if Cohen didn't intend it to be a campaign-saving Hail Mary.
That might be the case if he thought, as most pollsters indicated at the time, that his boss would lose the election to Hillary Clinton.
Trump tweeted his own unusually lengthy account on Thursday.
'Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA,' the president wrote.
'These agreements are very common among celebrities and people of wealth. In this case it is in full force and effect and will be used in Arbitration for damages against Ms. Clifford (Daniels). The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair despite already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no affair.'
'Prior to its violation by Ms. Clifford and her attorney, this was a private agreement. Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll [sic] in this transaction,' Trump concluded.
Giuliani also denied the payment Cohen made was a political move, saying on Fox News that it was 'to save their marriage,' referring to Donald and Melania Trump.
'I think he was trying to help the family. And for that, the man is being treated like some kind of villain.'
But in the same interview Giuliani seemed to give Daniels and her attorney Michael Avenatti fresh ammunition, suggesting that if Daniels' claims of a Trump affair become public during the election campaign, it could have been disastrous for the future president.
'Imagine if that came out on October 15, 2016, in the middle of the last debate with Hillary Clinton,' he said.
[size=34]Now Giuliani claims Trump was SURPRISED to learn his payments to Michael Cohen were reimbursements for Stormy Daniels hush money – but Cohen tells friend that 'Rudy doesn't know what he's talking about'[/size]
- Rudy Giuliani says the president was not aware of the purpose of a $35,000-per-month retainer he paid his personal lawyer Michael Cohen last year
- Part of the money reimbursed Cohen for a $130,000 hush-money payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels
- Daniels claims to have had an affair with Trump a decade ago and accepted the money in exchange for her silence
- Now she says she's free to talk about her time with the president because he never signed the nondisclosure agreement
- Giuliani says Trump's legal team told him just weeks ago what the retainers were for and Trump responded: 'Oh my goodness!'
- Kellyanne Conway told reporters Friday that she was unaware of the Daniels payoff, which happened in October 2016 while she was Trump's campaign chief
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:16 EDT, 4 May 2018 | UPDATED: 09:20 EDT, 4 May 2018
Rudy Giuliani said Thursday that President Donald Trump had no idea his personal lawyer Michael Cohen was using part of a $35,000-per-month legal retainer as hush money for porn actress Stormy Daniels.
The former New York City mayor, who has emerged as the latest legal Trump-whisperer, said the president's lawyers gave him that information just weeks ago.
'I don't think the president realized he paid him back for that specific thing until we made him aware of the paperwork,' Giuliani said of the $130,000 payoff to Stormy Daniels.
He told NBC News that Trump responded, 'Oh my goodness, I guess that's what it was for.'
+6
Trump-whisperer Rudy Giuliani, the president's newest legal spokesman, says Trump found out only recently that he had reimbursed lawyer Michael Cohen for his hush-money payoff to porn star Stormy Daniels
+6
Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 in exchange for her silence about what she claims was a Trump affair a decade ago; Trump paid him $35,000 per month in retainers throughout all of 2017, part of which was a reimbursement
+6
NBC News analyst Willie Geist said Friday that Cohen told friend Donny Deutsch that Giuliani 'doesn't know what he's talking about'
NBC analyst Willie Geist tweeted Friday morning, however, that Cohen believes Giuliani is twisting the facts of the case.
'In a conversation last night with @DonnyDeustch, Trump attorney Michael Cohen says "Rudy Giuliani doesn't know what he's talking about",' Geist wrote.
Deutsch and Cohen have been seen dining together in the past week, and leaving the posh Barney's New York together after one lunch.
Multiple different, and sometimes seemingly contradictory, accounts of the money trail in the now famous transaction could all be true.
+6
Trump's close counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters Friday that she was unaware of the Daniels payoff, which happened in October 2016 while she was Trump's campaign manager
Cohen claims he withdrew cash from a home equity line of credit in October 2016 to pay for Daniels' silence, and later said neither the Trump presidential campaign nor the president's real estate company paid him back.
Trump said a month ago that he knew nothing about the $130,000 payoff and was unaware of where the money might have come from.
And Giuliani is now suggesting that was true at the time, and that Trump was shocked to learn the truth – that he had been paying Cohen $35,000 per month throughout all 12 months of 2017, a total of $420,000.
Trump's close counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters Friday that she was unaware of the Daniels payoff, which happened in October 2016 while she was Trump's campaign manager.
She 'never heard about that during the campaign,' she insisted. 'I was the campaign manager. A lot crossed my desk."
Conway also said she 'did not' hear about the payment last year at the White House while the reimbursements were ongoing.
+6
Giuliani revealed this week in a Fox News Channel interview , that Trump repaid Cohen – but maintained that the president found out only weeks ago
Giuliani first said Wednesday night that Trump personally refunded the Stormy Daniels hush money to Cohen through legal-retainer payments over a series of months.
+6
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Cohen in late 2016 to keep quiet over her alleged affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007
Even some legal analysts' claims that the initial payment represented a campaign finance violation – an impermissibly large 'in-kind' donation – could be off-base, if Cohen didn't intend it to be a campaign-saving Hail Mary.
That might be the case if he thought, as most pollsters indicated at the time, that his boss would lose the election to Hillary Clinton.
Trump tweeted his own unusually lengthy account on Thursday.
'Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement, a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA,' the president wrote.
'These agreements are very common among celebrities and people of wealth. In this case it is in full force and effect and will be used in Arbitration for damages against Ms. Clifford (Daniels). The agreement was used to stop the false and extortionist accusations made by her about an affair despite already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no affair.'
'Prior to its violation by Ms. Clifford and her attorney, this was a private agreement. Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll [sic] in this transaction,' Trump concluded.
Giuliani also denied the payment Cohen made was a political move, saying on Fox News that it was 'to save their marriage,' referring to Donald and Melania Trump.
'I think he was trying to help the family. And for that, the man is being treated like some kind of villain.'
But in the same interview Giuliani seemed to give Daniels and her attorney Michael Avenatti fresh ammunition, suggesting that if Daniels' claims of a Trump affair become public during the election campaign, it could have been disastrous for the future president.
'Imagine if that came out on October 15, 2016, in the middle of the last debate with Hillary Clinton,' he said.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Fri 04 May 2018, 14:52
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5690651/Donald-Trump-says-launch-SPACE-FORCE-fight-extraterrestrial-wars.html
By TIM COLLINS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 06:56 EDT, 4 May 2018 | UPDATED: 08:21 EDT, 4 May 2018
A new space force could be created in the US to fight the extraterrestrial wars of the future, President Donald Trump has claimed.
Legislators and military experts have envisioned a possibility of war in space for at least the past several decades.
Until recently, that issue has been cast aside as other more pressing matters - including war and terrorism - have taken centre stage.
Now, addressing the prospect of an armed encounter above the Earth appears to be an increasing priority for the world's super powers.
Russia and China are already claimed to be developing armaments that can strike in space, including missiles that can target satellites.
Trump's comments suggest America is prioritising its own offensive and defensive capabilities, to ensure its supremacy in the theatre of space conflict.
Previously revealed US space weapons include the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and hypersonic missiles under development that could be used to strike objects in orbit.
Scroll down for video
+8
A new space force could be created in the US to fight the extraterrestrial wars of the future, President Donald Trump has claimed. His comments suggest addressing the prospect of an armed encounter in space is an increasing priority for the world's super powers
President Trump made the comments while presenting the annual Commander-in-Chief's Trophy to the US Army's Black Knights football team at the White House.
During his speech, the Trump said that his administration is 'seriously thinking' about creating a space force as part of his efforts to build up the nation's military.
Trump listed the 'five proud branches of the United States Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and the Coast Guard'.
According to reports in The Times, he paused for a moment before adding: 'And we're actually thinking of a sixth, and that would be the Space Force. Does that make sense?
'Because we're getting very big in space, both militarily and for other reasons. And we are seriously thinking of the Space Force.'
This is not the first time that Trump has raised the prospect of a new Space Force, telling a crowd of Marines in March he may want to start one.
+8
Previously revealed US space weapons include the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. This image shows The Air Force working on the reusable spacecraft after it landed at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2017
+8
The US Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane has flown a number of secret missions to date. Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit. Staff are seen testing the Air Force's first unmanned re-entry spacecraft in 2010
The US Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane has flown a number of secret missions to date.
Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit.
The spacecraft looks similar to Nasa's space shuttle but is much smaller. The X-37B is about 29ft (8.8m) long and 9.5ft (2.9 m) tall.
+8
Like a shuttle, X-37B is blasted into orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a normal aircraft. The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite
It has a wingspan of just less than 15ft (4.6 m). At launch, it weighs 11,000lbs (4,990kg).
The craft is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth.
Its main mission payload is a mystery, although Nasa has revealed it has a hauled a number of materials experiments aboard into space.
Positioned in front of a Marine F/A-18 Hornet, Trump called space a 'war-fighting domain', and talked up both its military importance and the merits of private ventures.
'Space is a war-fighting domain just like the land, air, and sea,' he said on March 23, as he spoke to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, nicknamed the Red Devils, at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
'We may even have a Space Force, develop another one – Space Force,' Trump added. 'We have the Air Force, you'll have the Space Force.'
In April, a new report outlined concerns that a space war may be approaching faster than many anticipated and that world leaders are woefully unprepared.
+8
Other potential space weapons include hypersonic missiles under development in the US, Russia and China that could be used to strike objects in orbit. This artist's impression shows Boeing's hypersonic X-51A Waverider cruise missile currently under development
Aircraft and missiles are said to be hypersonic once they exceed speeds of Mach 5 and above, or five times the speed of sound.
This occurs at 1,715 metres per second (3,836mph / 6,174kmh).
The latest class of hypersonic missiles would be smaller, guided and designed to carry conventional explosives for time-sensitive, rapid response in theatre operations.
There are two kinds of approaches to solving the hypersonic challenge in missiles: 'scramjet' and 'boost glide.'
The air-breathing scramjet relies on high speed for its power.
As it accelerates, more air and fuel is pushed into the engine, allowing it to accelerate even more - to hypersonic speeds.
The boost glide model rides a reentry vehicle to extremely high altitudes, where it skips across the Earth's upper atmosphere.
Traditional ballistic missiles already travel at hypersonic speeds.
Built to carry nuclear and conventional warheads, these weapons are capable of reaching outer space in the course of their flights, but they can't manoeuvre.
The US Department of Defense warned that the US isn't ready for a space war, while Russia and China have developed technologies that could destroy satellites that are crucial for many everyday tasks, ranging from ATMs to apps like Uber Eats.
The satellites are also used for reconnaissance and guiding precision bombs, missiles and drones.
'We are now approaching a point where "Star Wars" is not just a movie,' Steve Isakowitz, CEO of think tank Aerospace Corp, told Politico at the time.
The Pentagon has already set aside billions to 'harden' its defences against anti-satellite weapons and training troops to survive in space.
Congress also floated the idea last year of a new 'Space Corps', set to be modelled after the Marines.
It would be tasked with keeping the US ahead of its superpower rivals in the event of a war.
+8
Russia and China are already claimed to be developing armaments that can strike in space, including missiles that can target satellites
+8
If a US satellite is blown up by enemies in a war in space, it can create thousands of piece of dangerous space that can float around forever (artists' impression)
The idea of creating the first new branch to the US military in 70 years encountered significant resistance, however, and was scrapped in December 2017.
Alleged restriction of funds to the other armed forces squashed the idea.
US Air Force chief, General David Goldfein, has also claimed space warfare is a real possibility 'within a matter of years'.
The US will need new tools, specialist training and billions of dollars in funding to prepare for combat in orbit, he has said.
General Goldfein made the comments while speaking at the Air Force Association's 34th annual Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition in Orlando in February.
'[It's] time for us as a service, regardless of speciality badge, to embrace space superiority with the same passion and sense of ownership as we apply to air superiority today,' General Goldfein said at the time.
General Goldfein argues that the US Air Force is best placed to protect American interests in space.
He added: 'I believe we're going to be fighting from space in a matter of years.
'We are the service that must lead joint war fighting in this new contested domain. This is what the nation demands.'
+8
If a conflict breaks out between major powers in the future, it could be fought in the final frontier - space, according to US Air Force Chief of Staff General David L. Goldfein (pictured)
A group of more than 40 international experts are conducting a multi-year research project that will culminate in a Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Uses of Outer Space.
MILAMOS Project is to ensure space activities are conducted in accordance with the rule of law.
This will involve a consideration of the existing international rules on outer space.
It will also involve integration with international humanitarian law and the rules prohibiting the use of force.
The drafting of the rules will involve many meetings, heated discussions and compromises.
It is envisaged that at the end of the project the applicable rules will be agreed on the basis of consensus.
The MILAMOS Project is not an effort to condone warfare in outer space.
On the contrary, it seeks to prevent armed conflict and minimise the devastating impact that space technology and military operations may have on the long-term and peaceful use of outer space.
The Outer Space Treaty, which was signed in 1967, was agreed through the United Nations, and today it remains as the 'constitution' of outer space.
The space treaty states that celestial territory is not subject to 'national appropriation' – in other words, no country can lay claim to them.
In the fifty years the treaty has existed, it has yet to be violated.
[size=34]Donald Trump says he could launch a SPACE FORCE alongside other branches of the military to fight extraterrestrial wars[/size]
- Trump made claims in a speech to the Black Knights US army football team
- Supremacy in space appears to be an increasing priority for superpowers
- Russia and China are already developing weapons that can strike satellites
- US space weapons include the X-37B spacecraft and hypersonic missiles
- Congress floated the idea of a 'Space Corps' modelled after the Marines
- This was rejected in December 2017 over fears of funding shortages
By TIM COLLINS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 06:56 EDT, 4 May 2018 | UPDATED: 08:21 EDT, 4 May 2018
A new space force could be created in the US to fight the extraterrestrial wars of the future, President Donald Trump has claimed.
Legislators and military experts have envisioned a possibility of war in space for at least the past several decades.
Until recently, that issue has been cast aside as other more pressing matters - including war and terrorism - have taken centre stage.
Now, addressing the prospect of an armed encounter above the Earth appears to be an increasing priority for the world's super powers.
Russia and China are already claimed to be developing armaments that can strike in space, including missiles that can target satellites.
Trump's comments suggest America is prioritising its own offensive and defensive capabilities, to ensure its supremacy in the theatre of space conflict.
Previously revealed US space weapons include the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and hypersonic missiles under development that could be used to strike objects in orbit.
Scroll down for video
+8
A new space force could be created in the US to fight the extraterrestrial wars of the future, President Donald Trump has claimed. His comments suggest addressing the prospect of an armed encounter in space is an increasing priority for the world's super powers
President Trump made the comments while presenting the annual Commander-in-Chief's Trophy to the US Army's Black Knights football team at the White House.
During his speech, the Trump said that his administration is 'seriously thinking' about creating a space force as part of his efforts to build up the nation's military.
Trump listed the 'five proud branches of the United States Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and the Coast Guard'.
According to reports in The Times, he paused for a moment before adding: 'And we're actually thinking of a sixth, and that would be the Space Force. Does that make sense?
'Because we're getting very big in space, both militarily and for other reasons. And we are seriously thinking of the Space Force.'
This is not the first time that Trump has raised the prospect of a new Space Force, telling a crowd of Marines in March he may want to start one.
+8
Previously revealed US space weapons include the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. This image shows The Air Force working on the reusable spacecraft after it landed at Nasa's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2017
+8
The US Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane has flown a number of secret missions to date. Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit. Staff are seen testing the Air Force's first unmanned re-entry spacecraft in 2010
[size=34]WHAT IS THE MYSTERIOUS X-37B ORBITAL TEST VEHICLE? [/size]
The US Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane has flown a number of secret missions to date.
Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit.
The spacecraft looks similar to Nasa's space shuttle but is much smaller. The X-37B is about 29ft (8.8m) long and 9.5ft (2.9 m) tall.
+8
Like a shuttle, X-37B is blasted into orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a normal aircraft. The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite
It has a wingspan of just less than 15ft (4.6 m). At launch, it weighs 11,000lbs (4,990kg).
The craft is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth.
Its main mission payload is a mystery, although Nasa has revealed it has a hauled a number of materials experiments aboard into space.
Positioned in front of a Marine F/A-18 Hornet, Trump called space a 'war-fighting domain', and talked up both its military importance and the merits of private ventures.
'Space is a war-fighting domain just like the land, air, and sea,' he said on March 23, as he spoke to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, nicknamed the Red Devils, at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
'We may even have a Space Force, develop another one – Space Force,' Trump added. 'We have the Air Force, you'll have the Space Force.'
In April, a new report outlined concerns that a space war may be approaching faster than many anticipated and that world leaders are woefully unprepared.
+8
Other potential space weapons include hypersonic missiles under development in the US, Russia and China that could be used to strike objects in orbit. This artist's impression shows Boeing's hypersonic X-51A Waverider cruise missile currently under development
[size=34]WHAT ARE HYPERSONIC MISSILES AND HOW DO THEY WORK?[/size]
Aircraft and missiles are said to be hypersonic once they exceed speeds of Mach 5 and above, or five times the speed of sound.
This occurs at 1,715 metres per second (3,836mph / 6,174kmh).
The latest class of hypersonic missiles would be smaller, guided and designed to carry conventional explosives for time-sensitive, rapid response in theatre operations.
There are two kinds of approaches to solving the hypersonic challenge in missiles: 'scramjet' and 'boost glide.'
The air-breathing scramjet relies on high speed for its power.
As it accelerates, more air and fuel is pushed into the engine, allowing it to accelerate even more - to hypersonic speeds.
The boost glide model rides a reentry vehicle to extremely high altitudes, where it skips across the Earth's upper atmosphere.
Traditional ballistic missiles already travel at hypersonic speeds.
Built to carry nuclear and conventional warheads, these weapons are capable of reaching outer space in the course of their flights, but they can't manoeuvre.
The US Department of Defense warned that the US isn't ready for a space war, while Russia and China have developed technologies that could destroy satellites that are crucial for many everyday tasks, ranging from ATMs to apps like Uber Eats.
The satellites are also used for reconnaissance and guiding precision bombs, missiles and drones.
'We are now approaching a point where "Star Wars" is not just a movie,' Steve Isakowitz, CEO of think tank Aerospace Corp, told Politico at the time.
The Pentagon has already set aside billions to 'harden' its defences against anti-satellite weapons and training troops to survive in space.
Congress also floated the idea last year of a new 'Space Corps', set to be modelled after the Marines.
It would be tasked with keeping the US ahead of its superpower rivals in the event of a war.
+8
Russia and China are already claimed to be developing armaments that can strike in space, including missiles that can target satellites
+8
If a US satellite is blown up by enemies in a war in space, it can create thousands of piece of dangerous space that can float around forever (artists' impression)
The idea of creating the first new branch to the US military in 70 years encountered significant resistance, however, and was scrapped in December 2017.
Alleged restriction of funds to the other armed forces squashed the idea.
US Air Force chief, General David Goldfein, has also claimed space warfare is a real possibility 'within a matter of years'.
The US will need new tools, specialist training and billions of dollars in funding to prepare for combat in orbit, he has said.
General Goldfein made the comments while speaking at the Air Force Association's 34th annual Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition in Orlando in February.
'[It's] time for us as a service, regardless of speciality badge, to embrace space superiority with the same passion and sense of ownership as we apply to air superiority today,' General Goldfein said at the time.
General Goldfein argues that the US Air Force is best placed to protect American interests in space.
He added: 'I believe we're going to be fighting from space in a matter of years.
'We are the service that must lead joint war fighting in this new contested domain. This is what the nation demands.'
+8
If a conflict breaks out between major powers in the future, it could be fought in the final frontier - space, according to US Air Force Chief of Staff General David L. Goldfein (pictured)
First Air Force One in need of restoration and a good home
Trump touts increased military spending in front of Air Force
Spooky footage of ghostly figure in abandoned air forc…
Bleeding child screams in aftermath of 'Russian air for…
[size=34]HOW CAN WE STOP SPACE WARS?[/size]
A group of more than 40 international experts are conducting a multi-year research project that will culminate in a Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Uses of Outer Space.
MILAMOS Project is to ensure space activities are conducted in accordance with the rule of law.
This will involve a consideration of the existing international rules on outer space.
It will also involve integration with international humanitarian law and the rules prohibiting the use of force.
The drafting of the rules will involve many meetings, heated discussions and compromises.
It is envisaged that at the end of the project the applicable rules will be agreed on the basis of consensus.
The MILAMOS Project is not an effort to condone warfare in outer space.
On the contrary, it seeks to prevent armed conflict and minimise the devastating impact that space technology and military operations may have on the long-term and peaceful use of outer space.
The Outer Space Treaty, which was signed in 1967, was agreed through the United Nations, and today it remains as the 'constitution' of outer space.
The space treaty states that celestial territory is not subject to 'national appropriation' – in other words, no country can lay claim to them.
In the fifty years the treaty has existed, it has yet to be violated.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Fri 04 May 2018, 18:27
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5691489/Trump-headlines-NRAs-annual-gathering-gun-lobby-fights-Parkland-massacre.html
[size=34]Trump headlines the NRA's annual gathering as gun lobby fights back after being savaged in wake of Parkland massacre[/size]
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:44 EDT, 4 May 2018 | UPDATED: 12:10 EDT, 4 May 2018
President Donald Trump is headed to his most reliable supporters Friday to address the National Rifle Association's annual convention.
Held in Dallas this year 80,000 people are expected to attend the 147th annual gathering of the gun advocacy group that staunchly opposes new restrictions on semi-automatic weapons like the firearm used in the Parkland, Florida massacre.
The NRA endorsed Trump early in his campaign, and the president is repaying the lobbying organization for its loyalty with an appearance today.
+7
President Donald Trump on his way to Dallas where he is addressing the NRA's annual convention
+7
Second Amendment: The NRA's Dallas gathering is the first since the Parkland massacre, which prompted waves of protests and calls for restrictions on gun rights
+7
+7
In the crosshairs: NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre has found his organization's political influence under intense scrutiny in the wake of gun control protests held after Nikolas Cruz killed 17 at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida
He became the first president since Ronald Reagan to speak to the organization last year.
Under siege for the remarks that come less than three months after Parkland from left-wing activists, Trump's speech is expected to draw thousands of protesters, including actress Alyssa Milano.
Trump publicized the trip on Twitter on Friday morning before leaving the White House. But he did not mention in the message why he was flying to Dallas.
'Going to Dallas (the GREAT State of Texas) today. Leaving soon!' he said.
The president ultimately endorsed a set of reforms after Parkland that included incentives for state and federal agencies to follow firearms laws. However, he did not formally back proposed regulations that he had floated and the NRA fought back against, in the end.
Trump told GOP senators in the process that they should not be afraid of the NRA and he would give them political cover if they imposed stricter federal rules on the background check process.
He then ordered a commission formed entirely of Republicans in his administration to study the idea, and others, like arming teachers in schools.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday, as she was asked about Trump's speech, that school safety remains a priority of the administration as she defended the president's trip.
'Certainly, as we have indicated on many occasions, safety is a big priority. Security is a big priority for the administration,' she said. 'But we also support the Second Amendment, and strongly support it, and don’t see there to be a problem with speaking at the National Rifle Association’s meeting. '
+7
Challenge: The NRA is facing its most powerful challenge in the wake of the Parkland massacre. Students across the country took part in mass walkouts and took part in the March for Our Lives rally in Washington D.C. in March
+7
Fight back: The NRA s calling part of its 147th convention 'a show of strength' as it rallies its members to fight off restrictions on gun ownership
+7
Inconvenient truth: The NRA was mocked when it told its members they could not carry weapons during Trump and Mike Pence's speeches, in line with Secret Service rules
The NRA endorsed Trump earlier than any other presidential candidate in history and contributed millions to supporting his candidacy
An analysis of NRA spending by The Washington Post found that the gun rights group spent three times as much money on efforts that benefited Trump as it spent helping the last GOP nominee, Mitt Romney in 2012, and aired 4.5 times as many ads.
During the debate in Congress over how to proceed with gun reforms, Trump met with and spoke to the NRA multiple times. In a speech, he also claimed that Democrats want to abolish the Second Amendment.
He's like to reprise those claims and his complaints against his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton in Dallas.
During the campaign, Trump repeatedly made claims like, 'Crooked Hillary is the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate ever to run for office.'
Vice President Mike Pence is also delivering remarks at the NRA conference.
Chris Cox, the NRA-ILA executive director, said in a statement that he anticipates a 'meltdown' from Democrats over their appearances.
'I am honored to welcome President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to the NRA Convention in Dallas this Friday.
'While I’m sure there will be a meltdown on the left, we will be unapologetic in our celebration of American Freedom,' he said.
[size=34]Trump headlines the NRA's annual gathering as gun lobby fights back after being savaged in wake of Parkland massacre[/size]
- Trump is the main speaker at Friday's National Rifle Association annual convention in Dallas, Texas
- As many as 80,000 expected at gun rights group's gathering held in the shadow of Parkland massacre
- Trump was endorsed early in his campaign by the NRA and became first president since Reagan to address them last year
- He tweeted Friday only that he was going to 'the great state of Texas' and did not mention the NRA
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:44 EDT, 4 May 2018 | UPDATED: 12:10 EDT, 4 May 2018
President Donald Trump is headed to his most reliable supporters Friday to address the National Rifle Association's annual convention.
Held in Dallas this year 80,000 people are expected to attend the 147th annual gathering of the gun advocacy group that staunchly opposes new restrictions on semi-automatic weapons like the firearm used in the Parkland, Florida massacre.
The NRA endorsed Trump early in his campaign, and the president is repaying the lobbying organization for its loyalty with an appearance today.
+7
President Donald Trump on his way to Dallas where he is addressing the NRA's annual convention
+7
Second Amendment: The NRA's Dallas gathering is the first since the Parkland massacre, which prompted waves of protests and calls for restrictions on gun rights
+7
+7
In the crosshairs: NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre has found his organization's political influence under intense scrutiny in the wake of gun control protests held after Nikolas Cruz killed 17 at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida
He became the first president since Ronald Reagan to speak to the organization last year.
Under siege for the remarks that come less than three months after Parkland from left-wing activists, Trump's speech is expected to draw thousands of protesters, including actress Alyssa Milano.
Trump publicized the trip on Twitter on Friday morning before leaving the White House. But he did not mention in the message why he was flying to Dallas.
'Going to Dallas (the GREAT State of Texas) today. Leaving soon!' he said.
The president ultimately endorsed a set of reforms after Parkland that included incentives for state and federal agencies to follow firearms laws. However, he did not formally back proposed regulations that he had floated and the NRA fought back against, in the end.
Trump told GOP senators in the process that they should not be afraid of the NRA and he would give them political cover if they imposed stricter federal rules on the background check process.
He then ordered a commission formed entirely of Republicans in his administration to study the idea, and others, like arming teachers in schools.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday, as she was asked about Trump's speech, that school safety remains a priority of the administration as she defended the president's trip.
'Certainly, as we have indicated on many occasions, safety is a big priority. Security is a big priority for the administration,' she said. 'But we also support the Second Amendment, and strongly support it, and don’t see there to be a problem with speaking at the National Rifle Association’s meeting. '
+7
Challenge: The NRA is facing its most powerful challenge in the wake of the Parkland massacre. Students across the country took part in mass walkouts and took part in the March for Our Lives rally in Washington D.C. in March
+7
Fight back: The NRA s calling part of its 147th convention 'a show of strength' as it rallies its members to fight off restrictions on gun ownership
+7
Inconvenient truth: The NRA was mocked when it told its members they could not carry weapons during Trump and Mike Pence's speeches, in line with Secret Service rules
The NRA endorsed Trump earlier than any other presidential candidate in history and contributed millions to supporting his candidacy
An analysis of NRA spending by The Washington Post found that the gun rights group spent three times as much money on efforts that benefited Trump as it spent helping the last GOP nominee, Mitt Romney in 2012, and aired 4.5 times as many ads.
During the debate in Congress over how to proceed with gun reforms, Trump met with and spoke to the NRA multiple times. In a speech, he also claimed that Democrats want to abolish the Second Amendment.
He's like to reprise those claims and his complaints against his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton in Dallas.
During the campaign, Trump repeatedly made claims like, 'Crooked Hillary is the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate ever to run for office.'
Vice President Mike Pence is also delivering remarks at the NRA conference.
Chris Cox, the NRA-ILA executive director, said in a statement that he anticipates a 'meltdown' from Democrats over their appearances.
'I am honored to welcome President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to the NRA Convention in Dallas this Friday.
'While I’m sure there will be a meltdown on the left, we will be unapologetic in our celebration of American Freedom,' he said.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sat 05 May 2018, 01:08
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5689953/Trump-address-NRA-amid-national-gun-control-movement.html
[size=34]'We will NEVER surrender – ever, ever, ever! Americans are born free!' Trump goes all-in behind the NRA to applause from its members as he backs arming teachers and claims Democrats want to ban guns[/size]
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR and FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN DALLAS, TEXAS and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 01:19 EDT, 4 May 2018 | UPDATED: 18:02 EDT, 4 May 2018
President Donald Trump on Friday brought thousands of gun-rights enthusiasts to their feet in Texas, pledging to defend the Second Amendment in the face of attacks from politicians to his left.
'Americans will never surrender – ever, ever, ever! We will never, ever surrender! We will never give up our freedom,' he said at the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Dallas.
'Americans are born free. We will live free and we will die free.'
The NRA endorsed Trump early in his campaign, and the president repaid the organization for its loyalty with his second appearance in two years.
Trump went out of his way Friday to link the sanctity of 'the right to keep and bear arms' – Americans' constitutional self-protection guarantee – with Republicans' hopes to maintain control of Congress after November's midterm elections.
He blasted politicians who want 'to outlaw guns, like so many people want to do – Democrats! You better get out and vote!'
+9
President Donald Trump spoke at the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Dallas on Friday, warning NRA members that Democrats want to pare back their gun rights
+9
Trump urged voters to send more Republicans to Congress, saying Democrats want 'to outlaw guns'
+9
The NRA convention includes a giant exhibit hall where members can handle guns, but not buy them
'You know, they say we have a majority,' the president said, talking about the GOP's razor-thin edge in the U.S. Senate. 'We have, what, a majority of one person? That's not really a majority.'
'We need Republicans to do it right. To get the kind of things we want, we've got to get Republicans elected. We've got to do great in '18.
Trump struck a tough tone months after he briefly strayed from the NRA's message in the days after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. He vowed that the Second Amendment will 'never ever be under siege as long as I am your president.'
Yet he took time to express sorrow over the loss of life.
'Our entire nation was filled with shock and grief by the monstrous attack on a high school in Parkland, Florida,' the president said. 'We mourn for the victims and their families. I've gotten to know members of those families. There are incredible people.'
Trump said: 'Our hearts break for every American who has suffered the horrors of a school shooting.'
'We strongly believe in allowing highly trained teachers to carry concealed weapons, [if] they're highly trained,' he said.
'And by the way, these teachers ... they love their students and they are not going to let anybody hurt their students. But you have to give them a chance.'
Trump's speech in Dallas was his fourth consecutive appearance at the NRA's annual convention.
His gun comments were folded into a campaign-style speech, which touched on the Russia probe, the 2016 campaign, illegal immigration and his efforts in North Korea and Iran.
+9
Trump on Friday reiterated his call for arming some educators, a position that has drawn scorn from teachers unions and liberal politicians, as well as a groundswell of high school students affected by mass shootings
+9
Thousands of convention attendees applauded Trump as he said: 'We will never surrender – ever, ever, ever!'
Trump said Democrats want to 'outlaw guns' and said if the nation takes that step, it might as well ban all vans and trucks because they are the new weapons for 'maniac terrorists.'
The speech came as the issue of gun violence has taken on new urgency after one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Student survivors of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which left 17 people dead, are now leading a massive national gun control movement. They too are looking to the midterm elections for action.
Though Trump embraced the Second Amendment's near-absolute right to bear arms before Friday's speech, he had temporarily strayed from the strong anti-gun control message in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
While the shooting has not led to major changes from the White House or the Republican-led Congress, it did – at least briefly – prompt Trump to declare that he would stand up to the powerful gun lobby. He later backpedaled on that tough talk.
Trump referenced the Parkland shooting on Friday, saying he 'mourned for the victims and their families' and saying he has taken steps on school safety. He noted that he signed a recent spending bill that included modest provisions to strengthen the federal background check system for gun purchases and money to improve school safety.
Asked earlier this week why Trump was attending the convention, given the current political tensions around gun violence, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said safety was a 'big priority.' But, she added, 'We also support the Second Amendment, and strongly support it, and don't see there to be a problem with speaking at the National Rifle Association's meeting.'
+9
NRA members stood for the Pledge of Allegiance during the Leadership Forum event where the president spoke on Friday
+9
A page of notes – with some material crossed out in Trump's hand – is seen as the president acknowledged applause
Trump said some people had advised him that attending might be controversial, but added: 'You know what I said? 'Bye-bye, gotta get on the plane.''
Trump has long enjoyed strong backing from the NRA, which spent about $30 million in support of his presidential campaign. The NRA showcased its high-profile guests for the event, with NRA Executive Director Chris Cox saying on Twitter: 'We are honored to celebrate American Freedom with @realDonaldTrump, @VP Mike Pence and others. #2A #watchtheleftmeltdown'
But one of the Parkland student survivors, David Hogg, was critical of Trump's planned attendance.
'It's kind of hypocritical of him to go there after saying so many politicians bow to the NRA and are owned by them,' Hogg said. 'It proves that his heart and his wallet are in the same place.'
During a televised gun meeting with lawmakers in late February, Trump wagged his finger at a Republican senator and scolded him for being 'afraid of the NRA,' declaring that he would stand up to the group and finally get results in quelling gun violence.
He praised members of the gun lobby as 'great patriots' but declared 'that doesn't mean we have to agree on everything. It doesn't make sense that I have to wait until I'm 21 to get a handgun, but I can get this weapon at 18.' He was referring to the AR-15 the Parkland shooting suspect is accused of using.
Those words rattled some Republicans in Congress and sparked hope among gun-control advocates that, unlike after previous mass shootings, tougher regulations would be enacted this time. But Trump later retreated on those words, expressing support for modest changes to the background check system, as well as arming teachers.
After expressing interest in increasing the minimum age to purchase a so-called assault weapon to 21, Trump later declared there was 'not much political support' for the move. He then pushed off the issue of age restrictions by assigning the question to a commission.
+9
Blaise Maliskey, age 11, tried out a rifle in an exhibit hall at the NRA's convention; the organization raffles off guns but doesn't permit sales at its annual event
+9
National Rifle Association member and Donald Trump supporter Jim Whelan, center, talked with protester David Lyles, 60, right, outside the NRA convention
Trump's moves have drawn concerns from both sides of the gun debate.
'He ran as supposedly the best friend of the Second Amendment and has become gun grabber in chief,' said Michael Hammond, legislative counsel to the Gun Owners of America. Hammond said his members were upset Trump had approved a spending bill that included background check updates. 'We're not confident at all. We are very disappointed.'
Kristin Brown, of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Trump had offered mixed messages since the Parkland shooting.
'Which Donald Trump is going to show up?' she asked. 'Will it be the one who sympathized with the Parkland students he brought to the White House, the one who met with members of the Senate ... or the one who had burgers' with NRA head Wayne LaPierre.
Several groups announced plans to protest over the weekend. The protesters will include parents of those killed in Parkland and in other shootings.
[size=34]'We will NEVER surrender – ever, ever, ever! Americans are born free!' Trump goes all-in behind the NRA to applause from its members as he backs arming teachers and claims Democrats want to ban guns[/size]
- Trump speaks to NRA convention in Dallas and goes all-in for guns
- Says Americans will never give in to Democrats who want to pare down the Second Amendment
- Trump reiterate his desire to let trained and skilled teachers arm themselves on the job
- He also warned that unless Republicans can maintain control of Congress, Democrats will take away gun rights
- Trump blasted politicians who want 'to outlaw guns, like so many people want to do – Democrats! You better get out and vote!'
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR and FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN DALLAS, TEXAS and ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 01:19 EDT, 4 May 2018 | UPDATED: 18:02 EDT, 4 May 2018
- [email=?subject=Read%20this:%20%27We%20will%20NEVER%20surrender%20%E2%80%93%20ever,%20ever,%20ever!%20Americans%20are%20born%20free!%27%20Trump%20goes%20all-in%20behind%20the%20NRA%20to%20applause%20from%20its%20members%20as%20he%20backs%20arming%20teachers%20and%20claims%20Democrats%20want%20to%20ban%20guns&body=%27We%20will%20NEVER%20surrender%20%E2%80%93%20ever%2C%20ever%2C%20ever%21%20Americans%20are%20born%20free%21%27%20Trump%20goes%20all-in%20behind%20the%20NRA%20to%20applause%20from%20its%20members%20as%20he%20backs%20arming%20teachers%20and%20claims%20Democrats%20want%20to%20ban%20guns%0A%0ATrump%20linked%20the%20sanctity%20of%20%27the%20right%20to%20keep%20and%20bear%20arms%27%20%E2%80%93%20Americans%27%20constitutional%20self-protection%20guarantee%20%E2%80%93%20with%20Republicans%27%20hopes%20to%20maintain%20control%20of%20Congress%20this%20year.%0A%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-5689953%2FTrump-address-NRA-amid-national-gun-control-movement.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top%0A%0A%0AMost%20Read%20Articles%3A%0A%0ATen%20thousand%20are%20ordered%20to%20evacuate%20as%20Hawaii%27s%20Kilauea%20volcano%20spews%20fountains%20of%20lava%20150ft%20skywards%2C%20releases%20deadly%20gas%20and%20cracks%20streets%20in%20half%20after%20more%20than%20250%20quakes%20rock%20the%20Big%20Island%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-5689799%2FEvacuations-ordered-Hawaiian-volcano-spews-lava-residential-area-days-earthquakes.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0A%27I%20am%20your%20mother%27%3A%20Devastated%20biological%20mom%20of%20baby%20stolen%20at%20birth%20and%20raised%20by%20her%20kidnapper%20says%20she%20wants%20abductor%20to%20face%20the%20death%20penalty%20and%20confronts%20her%20daughter%2C%20now%2019%2C%20in%20court%20for%20SUPPORTING%20her%20%27fake%20mom%27%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-5689313%2FI-mother-Devastated-biological-mom-baby-stolen-birth-screams-daughter-court.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0ARevealed%3A%20Meghan%27s%20parents%20will%20meet%20the%20Queen%2C%20Charles%20and%20Camilla%20ahead%20of%20wedding%2C%20before%20her%20mother%20accompanies%20her%20by%20car%20to%20the%20chapel%20and%20her%20father%20walks%20her%20down%20the%20aisle%C2%A0%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%2Fnews%2Farticle-5691061%2FRoyal-wedding-Meghans-father-walk-actress-aisle.html%3Fito%3Demail_share_article-top_most-read-articles%0A%0A]e-mail[/email]
President Donald Trump on Friday brought thousands of gun-rights enthusiasts to their feet in Texas, pledging to defend the Second Amendment in the face of attacks from politicians to his left.
'Americans will never surrender – ever, ever, ever! We will never, ever surrender! We will never give up our freedom,' he said at the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Dallas.
'Americans are born free. We will live free and we will die free.'
The NRA endorsed Trump early in his campaign, and the president repaid the organization for its loyalty with his second appearance in two years.
Trump went out of his way Friday to link the sanctity of 'the right to keep and bear arms' – Americans' constitutional self-protection guarantee – with Republicans' hopes to maintain control of Congress after November's midterm elections.
He blasted politicians who want 'to outlaw guns, like so many people want to do – Democrats! You better get out and vote!'
+9
President Donald Trump spoke at the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Dallas on Friday, warning NRA members that Democrats want to pare back their gun rights
+9
Trump urged voters to send more Republicans to Congress, saying Democrats want 'to outlaw guns'
+9
The NRA convention includes a giant exhibit hall where members can handle guns, but not buy them
'You know, they say we have a majority,' the president said, talking about the GOP's razor-thin edge in the U.S. Senate. 'We have, what, a majority of one person? That's not really a majority.'
'We need Republicans to do it right. To get the kind of things we want, we've got to get Republicans elected. We've got to do great in '18.
Trump struck a tough tone months after he briefly strayed from the NRA's message in the days after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. He vowed that the Second Amendment will 'never ever be under siege as long as I am your president.'
Yet he took time to express sorrow over the loss of life.
'Our entire nation was filled with shock and grief by the monstrous attack on a high school in Parkland, Florida,' the president said. 'We mourn for the victims and their families. I've gotten to know members of those families. There are incredible people.'
Trump said: 'Our hearts break for every American who has suffered the horrors of a school shooting.'
More than 80,000 people were expected to attend the NRA event, showing their support for the group that staunchly opposes new restrictions on semi-automatic weapons like the firearm used in the Florida bloodbath.
Trump stuck to his guns on the thorny issue of giving teachers the option of arming themselves on the job if they have sufficient aptitude and skill.'We strongly believe in allowing highly trained teachers to carry concealed weapons, [if] they're highly trained,' he said.
'And by the way, these teachers ... they love their students and they are not going to let anybody hurt their students. But you have to give them a chance.'
Trump's speech in Dallas was his fourth consecutive appearance at the NRA's annual convention.
His gun comments were folded into a campaign-style speech, which touched on the Russia probe, the 2016 campaign, illegal immigration and his efforts in North Korea and Iran.
+9
Trump on Friday reiterated his call for arming some educators, a position that has drawn scorn from teachers unions and liberal politicians, as well as a groundswell of high school students affected by mass shootings
+9
Thousands of convention attendees applauded Trump as he said: 'We will never surrender – ever, ever, ever!'
Trump said Democrats want to 'outlaw guns' and said if the nation takes that step, it might as well ban all vans and trucks because they are the new weapons for 'maniac terrorists.'
The speech came as the issue of gun violence has taken on new urgency after one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Student survivors of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which left 17 people dead, are now leading a massive national gun control movement. They too are looking to the midterm elections for action.
Though Trump embraced the Second Amendment's near-absolute right to bear arms before Friday's speech, he had temporarily strayed from the strong anti-gun control message in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
While the shooting has not led to major changes from the White House or the Republican-led Congress, it did – at least briefly – prompt Trump to declare that he would stand up to the powerful gun lobby. He later backpedaled on that tough talk.
Trump referenced the Parkland shooting on Friday, saying he 'mourned for the victims and their families' and saying he has taken steps on school safety. He noted that he signed a recent spending bill that included modest provisions to strengthen the federal background check system for gun purchases and money to improve school safety.
Asked earlier this week why Trump was attending the convention, given the current political tensions around gun violence, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said safety was a 'big priority.' But, she added, 'We also support the Second Amendment, and strongly support it, and don't see there to be a problem with speaking at the National Rifle Association's meeting.'
+9
NRA members stood for the Pledge of Allegiance during the Leadership Forum event where the president spoke on Friday
+9
A page of notes – with some material crossed out in Trump's hand – is seen as the president acknowledged applause
Trump said some people had advised him that attending might be controversial, but added: 'You know what I said? 'Bye-bye, gotta get on the plane.''
Trump has long enjoyed strong backing from the NRA, which spent about $30 million in support of his presidential campaign. The NRA showcased its high-profile guests for the event, with NRA Executive Director Chris Cox saying on Twitter: 'We are honored to celebrate American Freedom with @realDonaldTrump, @VP Mike Pence and others. #2A #watchtheleftmeltdown'
But one of the Parkland student survivors, David Hogg, was critical of Trump's planned attendance.
'It's kind of hypocritical of him to go there after saying so many politicians bow to the NRA and are owned by them,' Hogg said. 'It proves that his heart and his wallet are in the same place.'
During a televised gun meeting with lawmakers in late February, Trump wagged his finger at a Republican senator and scolded him for being 'afraid of the NRA,' declaring that he would stand up to the group and finally get results in quelling gun violence.
He praised members of the gun lobby as 'great patriots' but declared 'that doesn't mean we have to agree on everything. It doesn't make sense that I have to wait until I'm 21 to get a handgun, but I can get this weapon at 18.' He was referring to the AR-15 the Parkland shooting suspect is accused of using.
Those words rattled some Republicans in Congress and sparked hope among gun-control advocates that, unlike after previous mass shootings, tougher regulations would be enacted this time. But Trump later retreated on those words, expressing support for modest changes to the background check system, as well as arming teachers.
After expressing interest in increasing the minimum age to purchase a so-called assault weapon to 21, Trump later declared there was 'not much political support' for the move. He then pushed off the issue of age restrictions by assigning the question to a commission.
+9
Blaise Maliskey, age 11, tried out a rifle in an exhibit hall at the NRA's convention; the organization raffles off guns but doesn't permit sales at its annual event
+9
National Rifle Association member and Donald Trump supporter Jim Whelan, center, talked with protester David Lyles, 60, right, outside the NRA convention
Trump's moves have drawn concerns from both sides of the gun debate.
'He ran as supposedly the best friend of the Second Amendment and has become gun grabber in chief,' said Michael Hammond, legislative counsel to the Gun Owners of America. Hammond said his members were upset Trump had approved a spending bill that included background check updates. 'We're not confident at all. We are very disappointed.'
Kristin Brown, of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Trump had offered mixed messages since the Parkland shooting.
'Which Donald Trump is going to show up?' she asked. 'Will it be the one who sympathized with the Parkland students he brought to the White House, the one who met with members of the Senate ... or the one who had burgers' with NRA head Wayne LaPierre.
Several groups announced plans to protest over the weekend. The protesters will include parents of those killed in Parkland and in other shootings.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sat 05 May 2018, 10:32
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5693285/Trump-administration-tells-57-000-Hondurans-leave-deported-ending-TPS.html
[size=34]Nearly 60,000 Hondurans are told to leave or be deported after 19 years in the US, as Trump administration ends the protection scheme for the country[/size]
By HANNAH MOORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 20:28 EDT, 4 May 2018 | UPDATED: 00:47 EDT, 5 May 2018
Tens of thousands of Honduras citizens - who have been living in the United States since 1998, have been told to leave or be deported.
About 57,000 people from the Central American country are currently living in the US under Temporary Protected Status [TPS].
A recent decision to end the availability of the TPS for Hondurans by the Trump administration means the group will need to begin heading home to Honduras, and be out of the US by January 1, 2020.
The decision was made in spite of Honduran officials, human rights groups and Democratic congressmen and women all fighting for the protections to be extended.
+7
Nearly 60,000 Hondurans living in the United States have been given until January 1 2020 to leave
+7
The group of 57,000, who have been living in the US since 1999, came as part of the Temporary Protection Status program after their nation was torn apart by a hurricane (pictured)
Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, released a statement on Friday explaining because the TPS was put in place because of Hurricane Mitch, which devastated the nation in 1998, circumstances regarding the hurricane were all that were examined in the decision.
Ms Nielsen's statement said because 'since 1999, conditions in Honduras that resulted from the hurricane have notably improved'.
'Additionally, since the last review of the country's conditions in October 2016, Honduras has made substantial progress in post-hurricane recovery and reconstruction from the 1998 Hurricane Mitch.'
Hurricane Mitch killed 11,000 people and caused more than $5billion worth of damage when it hit Central America in 1998, History Channel reported.
In Honduras, entire villages were washed away, and the country lost most of its infrastructure.
+7
Hurricane Mitch killed 11,000 people in Central America, and destroyed most of Honduras' infrastructure
+7
A statement from Trump's Homeland Security Secretary said only the country's recovery from Hurricane Mitch could be considered when deciding to renew the TPS
Some Hondurans may be eligible for an alternative lawful immigration status or other protections under the US immigration system, the statement claimed.
A time period of 18 months for the 57,000 people who re-registered after the last extension of the TPS is also intended to help Honduras prepare for the massive group of people who will need to return home.
While it is not generally possible to obtain citizenship or a green card while under TPS, a lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in New York in February which aims to create a more lenient and consistent policy.
Some TPS holders have been able to qualify for green cards and work visas, but some in another part of the country have struggled due to differing legal interpretations of the holder's immigration status.
+7
Those under TPS cannot typically get a green card or citizenship, meaning avenues for them to stay in the US are limited
+7
The decision to end the TPS for the Hondurans was made against the strong wishes of human rights groups and Democratic Congress members
For current Honduran TPS holders to remain in the US and work until the scheme runs out in 2020, they will need to re-register and apply for work authorization - which costs nearly $500, NBC reported.
President Juan Orlando Hernandez's government expressed regret at the forced removal of Hondurans from the United States.
The foreign relations ministry said in a statement it is a matter for Washington to decide, but added that 'we deeply lament it.'
It said returnees 'are and always will be welcome in their homeland, where they will be received with open arms,' and 'their reintegration into our society will be facilitated.'
+7
Honduras' Deputy Foreign Minister Jose Isias Barahona said those returning from the US would be 'received with open arms'
[size=34]Nearly 60,000 Hondurans are told to leave or be deported after 19 years in the US, as Trump administration ends the protection scheme for the country[/size]
- 57,000 Honduras citizens will need to leave by January 1 2020 or be deported
- The Trump administration has ended Temporary Protection Status for Honduras
- Nearly 60,000 people have been in the US since Hurricane Mitch in 1998
- The hurricane killed more than 11,000 and caused more than $5billion in damage
By HANNAH MOORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 20:28 EDT, 4 May 2018 | UPDATED: 00:47 EDT, 5 May 2018
Tens of thousands of Honduras citizens - who have been living in the United States since 1998, have been told to leave or be deported.
About 57,000 people from the Central American country are currently living in the US under Temporary Protected Status [TPS].
A recent decision to end the availability of the TPS for Hondurans by the Trump administration means the group will need to begin heading home to Honduras, and be out of the US by January 1, 2020.
The decision was made in spite of Honduran officials, human rights groups and Democratic congressmen and women all fighting for the protections to be extended.
+7
Nearly 60,000 Hondurans living in the United States have been given until January 1 2020 to leave
+7
The group of 57,000, who have been living in the US since 1999, came as part of the Temporary Protection Status program after their nation was torn apart by a hurricane (pictured)
Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, released a statement on Friday explaining because the TPS was put in place because of Hurricane Mitch, which devastated the nation in 1998, circumstances regarding the hurricane were all that were examined in the decision.
Ms Nielsen's statement said because 'since 1999, conditions in Honduras that resulted from the hurricane have notably improved'.
'Additionally, since the last review of the country's conditions in October 2016, Honduras has made substantial progress in post-hurricane recovery and reconstruction from the 1998 Hurricane Mitch.'
Hurricane Mitch killed 11,000 people and caused more than $5billion worth of damage when it hit Central America in 1998, History Channel reported.
In Honduras, entire villages were washed away, and the country lost most of its infrastructure.
+7
Hurricane Mitch killed 11,000 people in Central America, and destroyed most of Honduras' infrastructure
+7
A statement from Trump's Homeland Security Secretary said only the country's recovery from Hurricane Mitch could be considered when deciding to renew the TPS
Some Hondurans may be eligible for an alternative lawful immigration status or other protections under the US immigration system, the statement claimed.
A time period of 18 months for the 57,000 people who re-registered after the last extension of the TPS is also intended to help Honduras prepare for the massive group of people who will need to return home.
While it is not generally possible to obtain citizenship or a green card while under TPS, a lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in New York in February which aims to create a more lenient and consistent policy.
Some TPS holders have been able to qualify for green cards and work visas, but some in another part of the country have struggled due to differing legal interpretations of the holder's immigration status.
+7
Those under TPS cannot typically get a green card or citizenship, meaning avenues for them to stay in the US are limited
+7
The decision to end the TPS for the Hondurans was made against the strong wishes of human rights groups and Democratic Congress members
For current Honduran TPS holders to remain in the US and work until the scheme runs out in 2020, they will need to re-register and apply for work authorization - which costs nearly $500, NBC reported.
President Juan Orlando Hernandez's government expressed regret at the forced removal of Hondurans from the United States.
The foreign relations ministry said in a statement it is a matter for Washington to decide, but added that 'we deeply lament it.'
It said returnees 'are and always will be welcome in their homeland, where they will be received with open arms,' and 'their reintegration into our society will be facilitated.'
+7
Honduras' Deputy Foreign Minister Jose Isias Barahona said those returning from the US would be 'received with open arms'
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sat 05 May 2018, 21:10
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5694493/Texas-woman-29-tells-shock-OB-GYN-insists-kids.html
[size=34]'It's up to you to populate society with good people. My generation is counting on it': Texas woman, 29, left in tears after OB-GYN insists she SHOULD have kids[/size]
By KAYLA BRANTLEY FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 13:02 EDT, 5 May 2018 | UPDATED: 13:52 EDT, 5 May 2018
A 29-year-old woman has described her shock after her gynecologist insisted she have kids, leaving the wife 'exposed' and in tears.
After moving to Austin, Texas, a year ago with her husband, Brianna D'Alessio South was in the market for a new OB-GYN, seeking a contraceptive device known as an IUD.
Citing health issues as a factor, the couple had decided that children were not in their plans - a decision that South said continually questions.
But when she told her new gynecologist of her plans the doctor had her own opinions.
'You're educated, you're pretty, you really should. It's up to you to populate society with good people. My generation is counting on it,' the doctor said in the exam room.
+4
Brianna D'Alessio South, 29, and her husband had decided that children are not in their immediate plans
+4
South cites a history of mental health issues as well as ovarian cancer as factors that led to the decision
In an op-ed for the Huffington Post, South revealed the uncomfortable conversation with her new doctor who she said was 'disrespecting my personal choice'.
She wrote that at her first appointment, after going over her general profile- married, female, 29, and same sexual partner for the past nine years, South brought up the option of getting an intrauterine device and was interested in learning more.
However, she said the doctor 'tried to discourage my curiosity' and rushed through explaining the procedure.
Then, while lying down on the table for a pelvic exam, the OB-GYN asked South if she wanted children.
When South said no, the doctor replied: 'Well, you should.'
'Flat on my back, I was being challenged about my choice to not want children. Shocked and confused, I wasn't sure what response she wanted, so I gave an uncomfortable laugh,' South writes.
That's when the doctor responded that it is her generation to populate the society with good people because South appeared 'educated and pretty'.
The doctor added: 'My generation is counting on it.'
South remained silent after the doctors comments and said 'sadness fueled by shame' began to settle in.
'I didn’t trust the setting. And I didn’t have it in me to repeat the conversation I’ve had so many times before,' she said.
+4
When South moved to Austin, Texas, she visited a new gynecologist, seeking a contraceptive device known as an IUD
+4
But when South told her doctor that she did not want children, the OB-GYN insisted she should and said 'my generation is counting on it'
South cites a history of mental health issues as well as ovarian cancer as factors that led to the conversation with her husband of having children.
She said she has heard the same commentary for years.
'When people push back about having kids, I worry that maybe I appear selfish, so sometimes I respond with a smile, a shrug, silence and an effort to steer the conversation elsewhere. Other times, I defend my stance and am met with frowns or disappointment,' she writes.
However, this was not something she expected from a doctor while 'in a setting where we need to feel safe having vulnerable conversations.'
After leaving the doctor's office, South found herself crying in the parking lot.
Though she may have been used to these conversations by a nosy neighbor, she notes that 'a line was crossed between doctor and patient'.
But South regained her confidence in her decision and has penned this as an open-letter the doctor.
'To the OB-GYN who left me feeling exposed, I hope you listen next time before you casually dismiss a patient’s choice. I hope you recognize the validity of each woman who walks through your door. No one’s story is the same.'
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[size=34]'It's up to you to populate society with good people. My generation is counting on it': Texas woman, 29, left in tears after OB-GYN insists she SHOULD have kids[/size]
- Brianna D'Alessio South, 29, and her husband had decided that children are not in their immediate plans
- When South moved to Austin, Texas, she visited a new gynecologist, seeking a contraceptive device known as an IUD
- But when South told her doctor that she did not want children, the OB-GYN insisted she should and said 'my generation is counting on it'
- South cites a history of mental health issues as well as ovarian cancer as factors that led to the decision
By KAYLA BRANTLEY FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 13:02 EDT, 5 May 2018 | UPDATED: 13:52 EDT, 5 May 2018
A 29-year-old woman has described her shock after her gynecologist insisted she have kids, leaving the wife 'exposed' and in tears.
After moving to Austin, Texas, a year ago with her husband, Brianna D'Alessio South was in the market for a new OB-GYN, seeking a contraceptive device known as an IUD.
Citing health issues as a factor, the couple had decided that children were not in their plans - a decision that South said continually questions.
But when she told her new gynecologist of her plans the doctor had her own opinions.
'You're educated, you're pretty, you really should. It's up to you to populate society with good people. My generation is counting on it,' the doctor said in the exam room.
+4
Brianna D'Alessio South, 29, and her husband had decided that children are not in their immediate plans
+4
South cites a history of mental health issues as well as ovarian cancer as factors that led to the decision
In an op-ed for the Huffington Post, South revealed the uncomfortable conversation with her new doctor who she said was 'disrespecting my personal choice'.
She wrote that at her first appointment, after going over her general profile- married, female, 29, and same sexual partner for the past nine years, South brought up the option of getting an intrauterine device and was interested in learning more.
However, she said the doctor 'tried to discourage my curiosity' and rushed through explaining the procedure.
Then, while lying down on the table for a pelvic exam, the OB-GYN asked South if she wanted children.
When South said no, the doctor replied: 'Well, you should.'
'Flat on my back, I was being challenged about my choice to not want children. Shocked and confused, I wasn't sure what response she wanted, so I gave an uncomfortable laugh,' South writes.
That's when the doctor responded that it is her generation to populate the society with good people because South appeared 'educated and pretty'.
The doctor added: 'My generation is counting on it.'
South remained silent after the doctors comments and said 'sadness fueled by shame' began to settle in.
'I didn’t trust the setting. And I didn’t have it in me to repeat the conversation I’ve had so many times before,' she said.
+4
When South moved to Austin, Texas, she visited a new gynecologist, seeking a contraceptive device known as an IUD
+4
But when South told her doctor that she did not want children, the OB-GYN insisted she should and said 'my generation is counting on it'
South cites a history of mental health issues as well as ovarian cancer as factors that led to the conversation with her husband of having children.
She said she has heard the same commentary for years.
'When people push back about having kids, I worry that maybe I appear selfish, so sometimes I respond with a smile, a shrug, silence and an effort to steer the conversation elsewhere. Other times, I defend my stance and am met with frowns or disappointment,' she writes.
However, this was not something she expected from a doctor while 'in a setting where we need to feel safe having vulnerable conversations.'
After leaving the doctor's office, South found herself crying in the parking lot.
Though she may have been used to these conversations by a nosy neighbor, she notes that 'a line was crossed between doctor and patient'.
But South regained her confidence in her decision and has penned this as an open-letter the doctor.
'To the OB-GYN who left me feeling exposed, I hope you listen next time before you casually dismiss a patient’s choice. I hope you recognize the validity of each woman who walks through your door. No one’s story is the same.'
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annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sun 06 May 2018, 03:17
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5695769/Trump-team-hired-Israeli-spy-firm-collect-dirt-Obama-officials.html
[size=34]REVEALED: Trump team 'hired Israeli spy firm to collect dirt on Obama officials in an attempt to discredit Iran nuclear deal'[/size]
By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 20:54 EDT, 5 May 2018 | UPDATED: 21:54 EDT, 5 May 2018
Aides to President Donald Trump reportedly contracted an Israeli private security firm to collect dirt on Obama administration officials and discredit the Iran nuclear deal.
The operation to 'get dirt' on Barack Obama's former staffers Ben Rhodes and Colin Kahl was launched last May, according to unnamed sources and documents cited by UK newspaper The Observer.
The sources said that officials linked to Trump's team contacted Israeli investigators just days after Trump visited Tel Aviv a year ago, his first foreign trip as US president.
The goal was apparently to discredit the Iran nuclear deal framework, which Trump has repeatedly threatened to scuttle ahead of a key May 12 deadline for certifying Iran's compliance.
+4
Trump is seen conferring with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv last May, just days before his camp allegedly hired an Israeli private spy firm to dig dirt on Obama aides
+4
Former Deputy National Security Adviser Benjamin Rhodes (right) was one of the architects of the Iran deal that the alleged covert smear operation targeted
Investigators contracted by the Israeli intelligence agency were instructed to dig into the personal lives and political careers of Rhodes, a former deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, and Kahl, a national security adviser to the former vice-president Joe Biden, according to documents cited by the Observer.
'The idea was that people acting for Trump would discredit those who were pivotal in selling the [Iran] deal, making it easier to pull out of it,' said an unnamed source quoted in the report.
Among things the investigators allegedly examined were personal relationships, any involvement with Iran-friendly lobbyists, and whether the Obama aides had benefited personally or politically from the peace deal.
The private investigators were also allegedly instructed to contact prominent Iranian Americans as well as pro-deal journalists to determine whether Rhodes and Kahl had violated rules by leaking.
Rhodes famously said in a 2016 New York Times profile that he relied on inexperienced reporters to create an 'echo chamber' to helped sway public opinion in favor of the deal.
The investigators were said to be examining Rhodes and Kahl's contacts with the New York Times, MSNBC, the Atlantic, Vox website and Israeli newspaper Haaretz, among others.
+4
Former US Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for the Middle East Colin Kahl was also a target of the alleged smear campaign run by a private Israeli intelligence firm
+4
Last week, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to have evidence that Iran 'lied' about its weapons program
It is unclear how far along the project to uncover dirt progressed, or what became of any of the information discovered on the two aides.
Rhodes told the Observer: 'I was not aware, though sadly am not surprised. I would say that digging up dirt on someone for carrying out their professional responsibilities in their positions as White House officials is a chillingly authoritarian thing to do.'
Israel has lobbied heavily against the Iran deal, which lifts economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for a 10-year freeze on the country's nuclear weapons program.
Last week, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to have evidence that Iran 'lied' about its weapons program. Iran is an arch-nemesis of Israel.
Although the name of the firm allegedly contracted by Trump associates is not clear, Israel is well known for its abundance of private intelligence and security firms.
In November, the Israeli private spy network Black Cube made news when it was revealed that disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein hired the firm to squash articles about sexual misconduct he was accused of.
[size=34]REVEALED: Trump team 'hired Israeli spy firm to collect dirt on Obama officials in an attempt to discredit Iran nuclear deal'[/size]
- New report says Trump aides hired Israeli firm last year after visit to Tel Aviv
- Israeli spies allegedly tried to gather dirt on Obama aides behind Iran deal
- Revelation comes amid international jockeying ahead of May 12 deadline
By KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 20:54 EDT, 5 May 2018 | UPDATED: 21:54 EDT, 5 May 2018
Aides to President Donald Trump reportedly contracted an Israeli private security firm to collect dirt on Obama administration officials and discredit the Iran nuclear deal.
The operation to 'get dirt' on Barack Obama's former staffers Ben Rhodes and Colin Kahl was launched last May, according to unnamed sources and documents cited by UK newspaper The Observer.
The sources said that officials linked to Trump's team contacted Israeli investigators just days after Trump visited Tel Aviv a year ago, his first foreign trip as US president.
The goal was apparently to discredit the Iran nuclear deal framework, which Trump has repeatedly threatened to scuttle ahead of a key May 12 deadline for certifying Iran's compliance.
+4
Trump is seen conferring with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv last May, just days before his camp allegedly hired an Israeli private spy firm to dig dirt on Obama aides
+4
Former Deputy National Security Adviser Benjamin Rhodes (right) was one of the architects of the Iran deal that the alleged covert smear operation targeted
Investigators contracted by the Israeli intelligence agency were instructed to dig into the personal lives and political careers of Rhodes, a former deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, and Kahl, a national security adviser to the former vice-president Joe Biden, according to documents cited by the Observer.
'The idea was that people acting for Trump would discredit those who were pivotal in selling the [Iran] deal, making it easier to pull out of it,' said an unnamed source quoted in the report.
Among things the investigators allegedly examined were personal relationships, any involvement with Iran-friendly lobbyists, and whether the Obama aides had benefited personally or politically from the peace deal.
The private investigators were also allegedly instructed to contact prominent Iranian Americans as well as pro-deal journalists to determine whether Rhodes and Kahl had violated rules by leaking.
Rhodes famously said in a 2016 New York Times profile that he relied on inexperienced reporters to create an 'echo chamber' to helped sway public opinion in favor of the deal.
The investigators were said to be examining Rhodes and Kahl's contacts with the New York Times, MSNBC, the Atlantic, Vox website and Israeli newspaper Haaretz, among others.
+4
Former US Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for the Middle East Colin Kahl was also a target of the alleged smear campaign run by a private Israeli intelligence firm
+4
Last week, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to have evidence that Iran 'lied' about its weapons program
It is unclear how far along the project to uncover dirt progressed, or what became of any of the information discovered on the two aides.
Rhodes told the Observer: 'I was not aware, though sadly am not surprised. I would say that digging up dirt on someone for carrying out their professional responsibilities in their positions as White House officials is a chillingly authoritarian thing to do.'
Israel has lobbied heavily against the Iran deal, which lifts economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for a 10-year freeze on the country's nuclear weapons program.
Last week, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to have evidence that Iran 'lied' about its weapons program. Iran is an arch-nemesis of Israel.
Although the name of the firm allegedly contracted by Trump associates is not clear, Israel is well known for its abundance of private intelligence and security firms.
In November, the Israeli private spy network Black Cube made news when it was revealed that disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein hired the firm to squash articles about sexual misconduct he was accused of.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sun 06 May 2018, 14:42
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5696681/Iran-warns-regret-quitting-nuclear-deal.html
[size=34]Iran President Hassan Rouhani warns the US would regret it 'like never before' if Trump quits nuclear deal[/size]
By AFP
PUBLISHED: 08:59 EDT, 6 May 2018 | UPDATED: 09:34 EDT, 6 May 2018
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned that the United States would regret it 'like never before' if they decided to quit a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from the agreement when it comes up for renewal on May 12, demanding his country's European allies 'fix the terrible flaws' or he will re-impose sanctions.
In a televised speech in northwestern Iran on Sunday, reformist Rouhani said if the US quit the deal there would be 'historic remorse'.
'If the United States leaves the nuclear agreement, you will soon see that they will regret it like never before in history,' Rouhani said.
+3
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned on Sunday that the United States would regret it 'like never before' if they decided to quit a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers
'Trump must know that our people are united, the Zionist regime (Israel) must know that our people are united.
'Today all (Iran's) political factions, whether they be from the right, the left, the conservatives, reformers and moderates are united.'
The nuclear deal was struck in 2015 between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, then led by Barack Obama.
Under the pact, sanctions were eased in return for a commitment not to pursue a nuclear bomb, but Iran says it is not reaping the rewards despite complying with the deal.
Trump has consistently complained about the agreement, citing perceived flaws including 'sunset' provisions lifting some nuclear restrictions from 2025.
In an attempt to salvage the deal, French President Emmanuel Macron has recently pushed to extend its scope to address this issue, as well as the absence of any limits on Iran's conventional missile capabilities and Tehran's role in the region.
+3
US President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from the agreement when it comes up for renewal on May 12
Iran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, via the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in Syria's civil war, and its backing for Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen have added to frictions between Tehran and Western powers.
Rouhani vehemently reiterated his country's opposition to curtailing its non-nuclear missile capabilities in his speech on Sunday.
He said Tehran 'will build as many missiles and weapons as needed' for its defense.
'We are honouring our commitment, but we are telling the whole world we will not negotiate with anyone about our weapons and our defense,' he said.
Iran's president also said that while he is open to discussing the country's regional role, he would not abandon what he described as its fight 'against terrorism.'
'We want to talk to the world so that our region is safe' but 'we will not allow you to create a new Daesh' he said, using an Arabic term for the Islamic State group.
+3
In a televised speech in northwestern Iran on Sunday, reformist Rouhani said if the US quit the deal there would be 'historic remorse'
While Rouhani did not elaborate on this point, Iran's ally the Syrian government has consistently referred to all armed opponents as 'terrorists' and accused the West of facilitating terrorism.
Iran has always denied it sought a nuclear weapon, insisting its atomic programme was for civilian purposes.
Rouhani did not specify how Iran would react if the US pulls out of the 2015 deal.
But he said he had given 'the necessary orders', notably to Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, in anticipation of Trump's decision.
As the May 12 US decision point nears, Iranian leaders have shuffled between placatory and hawkish comments, although the hardliners have taken a uncompromising stance.
On Thursday Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Tehran would quit the nuclear deal if the United States withdraws.
ADVERTISEMENT
[size=34]Iran President Hassan Rouhani warns the US would regret it 'like never before' if Trump quits nuclear deal[/size]
- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the US on Sunday that there would be 'historic remorse' if they quit a nuclear deal
- President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from the agreement when it comes up for renewal on May 12
- Trump has demanded his country's European allies 'fix the terrible flaws' or he will re-impose sanctions
- Rouhani said if the US quits the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers then Washington would regret it 'like never before'
By AFP
PUBLISHED: 08:59 EDT, 6 May 2018 | UPDATED: 09:34 EDT, 6 May 2018
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned that the United States would regret it 'like never before' if they decided to quit a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from the agreement when it comes up for renewal on May 12, demanding his country's European allies 'fix the terrible flaws' or he will re-impose sanctions.
In a televised speech in northwestern Iran on Sunday, reformist Rouhani said if the US quit the deal there would be 'historic remorse'.
'If the United States leaves the nuclear agreement, you will soon see that they will regret it like never before in history,' Rouhani said.
+3
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned on Sunday that the United States would regret it 'like never before' if they decided to quit a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers
'Trump must know that our people are united, the Zionist regime (Israel) must know that our people are united.
'Today all (Iran's) political factions, whether they be from the right, the left, the conservatives, reformers and moderates are united.'
The nuclear deal was struck in 2015 between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, then led by Barack Obama.
Under the pact, sanctions were eased in return for a commitment not to pursue a nuclear bomb, but Iran says it is not reaping the rewards despite complying with the deal.
Trump has consistently complained about the agreement, citing perceived flaws including 'sunset' provisions lifting some nuclear restrictions from 2025.
In an attempt to salvage the deal, French President Emmanuel Macron has recently pushed to extend its scope to address this issue, as well as the absence of any limits on Iran's conventional missile capabilities and Tehran's role in the region.
+3
US President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from the agreement when it comes up for renewal on May 12
Iran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, via the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in Syria's civil war, and its backing for Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen have added to frictions between Tehran and Western powers.
Rouhani vehemently reiterated his country's opposition to curtailing its non-nuclear missile capabilities in his speech on Sunday.
He said Tehran 'will build as many missiles and weapons as needed' for its defense.
'We are honouring our commitment, but we are telling the whole world we will not negotiate with anyone about our weapons and our defense,' he said.
Iran's president also said that while he is open to discussing the country's regional role, he would not abandon what he described as its fight 'against terrorism.'
'We want to talk to the world so that our region is safe' but 'we will not allow you to create a new Daesh' he said, using an Arabic term for the Islamic State group.
+3
In a televised speech in northwestern Iran on Sunday, reformist Rouhani said if the US quit the deal there would be 'historic remorse'
While Rouhani did not elaborate on this point, Iran's ally the Syrian government has consistently referred to all armed opponents as 'terrorists' and accused the West of facilitating terrorism.
Iran has always denied it sought a nuclear weapon, insisting its atomic programme was for civilian purposes.
Rouhani did not specify how Iran would react if the US pulls out of the 2015 deal.
But he said he had given 'the necessary orders', notably to Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, in anticipation of Trump's decision.
As the May 12 US decision point nears, Iranian leaders have shuffled between placatory and hawkish comments, although the hardliners have taken a uncompromising stance.
On Thursday Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Tehran would quit the nuclear deal if the United States withdraws.
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annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sun 06 May 2018, 16:40
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5695267/France-slams-Trump-remarks-guns-Paris-attacks.html
[size=34]France slams Trump after he claims Parisians could have STOPPED 2015 Bataclan attack 'if they were armed'[/size]
By ALEXANDER ROBERTSON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 16:39 EDT, 5 May 2018 | UPDATED: 10:17 EDT, 6 May 2018
France has slammed Donald Trump over remarks that Parisians could have stopped the deadly 2015 extremist attacks if they were armed with guns.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian expressed his 'firm disapproval' of the US President's comments and vigorously defended France's gun controls.
In a statement, Le Drian said gun violence statistics 'do not lead us to reconsider France's choice on this issue'.
+2
Le Drian continued: 'Free circulation of weapons in society does not constitute a rampart against terrorist attacks, to the contrary, it can facilitate this type of attack.'
ISIS attackers killed 130 people in Paris' Bataclan concert hall, cafes and the national stadium in 2015.
Trump was speaking at a National Rifle Association meeting, and also referred to London as a 'war zone' due to a recent spate of stabbing attacks.
Speaking about the Paris attacks, he said: 'The terrorists would have fled or been shot and it would have been a whole different story.
'Nobody has guns in Paris, nobody, and we all remember the more than 130 people, plus the tremendous numbers of people that were horribly, horribly wounded.
'They died in a restaurant and various other close-proximity places. They were brutally killed by a small group of terrorists, that had guns.
'They took their time and gunned them down one by one.'
[size=34]France slams Trump after he claims Parisians could have STOPPED 2015 Bataclan attack 'if they were armed'[/size]
- French minister Jean-Yves Le Drian expressed his 'firm disapproval' of comments
- ISIS attackers killed 130 in the Bataclan hall, cafes and France's national stadium
- President Trump was speaking at a National Rifle Association meeting on Friday
By ALEXANDER ROBERTSON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 16:39 EDT, 5 May 2018 | UPDATED: 10:17 EDT, 6 May 2018
France has slammed Donald Trump over remarks that Parisians could have stopped the deadly 2015 extremist attacks if they were armed with guns.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian expressed his 'firm disapproval' of the US President's comments and vigorously defended France's gun controls.
In a statement, Le Drian said gun violence statistics 'do not lead us to reconsider France's choice on this issue'.
+2
Le Drian continued: 'Free circulation of weapons in society does not constitute a rampart against terrorist attacks, to the contrary, it can facilitate this type of attack.'
ISIS attackers killed 130 people in Paris' Bataclan concert hall, cafes and the national stadium in 2015.
Trump was speaking at a National Rifle Association meeting, and also referred to London as a 'war zone' due to a recent spate of stabbing attacks.
Speaking about the Paris attacks, he said: 'The terrorists would have fled or been shot and it would have been a whole different story.
'Nobody has guns in Paris, nobody, and we all remember the more than 130 people, plus the tremendous numbers of people that were horribly, horribly wounded.
'They died in a restaurant and various other close-proximity places. They were brutally killed by a small group of terrorists, that had guns.
'They took their time and gunned them down one by one.'
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Mon 07 May 2018, 21:02
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5700751/Melania-Trump-hits-record-approval-rating-57.html
[size=34]Melania's lecture to the tweeter-in-chief: First Lady unveils her Be Best campaign urging children to use social media with 'compassion and respect' and warning 'too often it is used in a negative way' - as Trump claps enthusiastically[/size]
By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:44 EDT, 7 May 2018 | UPDATED: 15:46 EDT, 7 May 2018
First Lady Melania Trump unveiled her new initiatives for the her husband’s administration – a vow to help kids ‘be best’ that included a stern lecture about appropriate online behavior while the Tweeter in chief sat just feet away from her.
The new initiative, which sprawls into three major areas, doesn't back away from an earlier push for 'positive' behavior online.
The first lady spoke alone at a podium from the Rose Garden, while her husband was seated in the front row of dignitaries who gathered to hear a rare public event for a private-minded first lady who didn't move to the White House until months into the administration.
'Talk to your kids about bullying. Tell your kids that they can't hide behind the words they type and the images they post or send,' she told the audience arranged by the White House.
'Bullying is a lose-lose situation: Hurtful messages make the target feel bad, and they make the sender look bad. Often they can bring scorn from peers and punishment from authorities,' Melania Trump said.
President Trump sat in front and listened.
+9
BE BEST: Melania Trump unveiled her new initiative at the White House
Her plea came on a day when Trump railed against the 'Phony Witch Hunt' of the Russia probe, blasted a pair of FBI lovers, went after former Secretary of State John Kerry's 'possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy,' and said GOP Senate candidate Don Blankenship 'can't win' in West Virginia.
Trump also sent out a tweet announcing he had reached a decision on the Iran deal just minutes before his wife was to take the stage.
'Melania, your care and compassion for our nation’s children and I have to say this and I say it all the time, inspires us all,' the president told her after her remarks, before signing a 'Be Best' proclamation.
'I think you all know who is going to get the pen. Thank you,' the president concluded.
'My hope is that together we can be best at helping children and families find effective ways to educate themselves and help each other,' the first lady said, calling to make a 'real difference.'
Her campaign doesn't contain the label of stopping 'cyber bullying' – a topic that drew ridicule because of her husband's constant online attacks on his rivals.
But the first lady does want kids to develop 'positive online behaviors' and 'choose their words wisely' online, and learn to 'speak with respect and compassion.
The rollout for the new push had the feel of a family garden party, with the Marine Band providing musical accompaniment in the White House rose garden.
Ivnaka Trump, Jared Kushner, Kellyanne Conway, and top cabinet officials including Steven Mnuchin attended.
President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence also turned out on a sunny day.
''Together, I believe we should strive to provide kids with the tools they need to cultivate their social and emotional health,' she said.
Aides kept the substantive content of her rollout a secret until just minutes before she took a podium alone just steps from the Oval Office.
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THE BEST IS YET TO COME: U.S. first lady Melania Trump delivers remarks at the "launch of her Be Best initiatives in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 7, 2018.
There were two large banners displaying the new 'Be Best' logo. President Trump was seated in the front row of a gathering
'As we all know, social media can both positively and negatively affect our children,' Melania Trump said.
Speaking in heavily-accented English due to her Slovenian background, she continued: 'When children learn positive online behaviors early-on, social media can be used in productive ways and can affect positive change.'
Members of the press – derided as ‘fake news’ by President Trump – were provided with red white and blue cookies that carried the new ‘Be Best’ logo.
+9
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump 'spend very little to no time together,' according to a friend of the president's
‘The mission of Be Best is to focus on the major issues facing children today, with the goal of encouraging children to Be Best in their individual paths, while also teacing them the importance of social, emotional, and physical health,’ according to a PR packet. ‘Be Best will concentrate on three main pillars: well-being, social media, and opioid abuse.’
Melania Trump has achieved a new high in her personal approval rating – even as her husband battles the Stormy Daniels allegations and the Russia probe.
The first lady's public approval rating hit 57 per cent in a new CNN poll, up ten percentage points from mid-January.
At the start of the year, the first lady's approval rating was 47 per cent, with an unfavorable rating of 37 per cent.
By contrast, her husband's approval rating is at 42 percent in the latest fivethirtyeight average.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are living highly public – and mostly separate – lives.
'They spend very little to no time together,' a longtime friend of the president told the Washington Post, as Melania prepares to roll out her own White House initiatives to focus on children.
Although the pair are sometimes photographed smiling in public as when they attend joint events or board government aircraft en route to Mar-a-Lago, they spend considerable time apart.
They have separate bedrooms inside the White House, and Trump awakes at early hours to lob tweets at his rivals.
'They are not that couple that holds hands just because; she is old-world European and it's not who she is,' said Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who previously held a volunteer White House job and whose firm got paid $1.62 million for consulting and production related to Trump's inauguration.
Her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, knocked down a 'persistent rumor' that the first lady doesn't even live in the White House and stays with her parents near son Barron Trump's school.
'It's 1,000 percent false. We laugh at it all the time,' said Grisham. White House social secretary Rickie Niceta Lloyd called it an ''urban legend.'
The two have carved out largely separate public lives. While the president makes regular appearances with his cabinet, staff aides, and world leaders, the first lady focuses on her own, less-frequent events.
When the couple travels to Florida for weekends, the only image of them together is frequently of them boarding and de-boarding an aircraft.
President Trump sent his wife birthday wishes during an appearance on Fox News last month where he said: 'Maybe, I didn't get her so much. I got her a beautiful card, you know I'm very busy to be running out looking for presents.'
She hasn't spoken about the Stormy Daniels scandal that has rocked his administration.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is representing Trump, said he was 'trying to help the family' with a $130,000 payment to silence porn star. Daniels alleges she had a sexual affair with Trump while Melania was pregnant with Barron.
+9
Melania Trump launches her initiatives today with Rose Garden speech 16 months after her husband took office. She will focus on children's issues
+9
WHITE HAT: First Lady Melania Trump listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the arrival ceremony for President Macron on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, April 24, 2018
+9
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hold hands as they stand in front of the casket as the late evangelist Billy Graham lies in honor in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. February 28, 2018
Aside from the president's solo trips, the family spends most evenings together.' She also played down the headlines about Trump's alleged affairs and said Melania 'is focused on being a mom. She's focused on being a wife, and she's focused on her role as first lady. And that's it. The rest is just noise.'
During the funeral for Barbara Bush, it was Melania Trump who flew to Texas to represent the administration, appearing with former presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton.
According to her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump will focus on issues relating to children during her time in the White House. She is rolling out her focus 16 months into the administration.
+9
First Lady Melania Trump throws a Christmas ornament as she makes garland with children in the East Wing as she tours holiday decorations at the White House in Washington, DC, November 27, 2017
+9
Stephanie Clifford aka 'Stormy Daniels' during 'Michael Cohen Wiretap Cold Open' on 'Saturday Night Live'
+9
Amalija and Viktor Knavs, parents of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, arrive with their lawyer Michael Wildes (C) at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, May 2, 2018 in New York City. The Knavs were scheduled to have a meeting concerning their U.S. citizenship applications
She previously said she would focus on cyber bullying – a topic she acknowledged has drawn scrutiny thanks to her husbands use of Twitter to pound his opponents.
'As has been evidenced by the many events Mrs. Trump has participated in during her time as first lady, her focus will be the overall well-being of children. Something unique though: She has not narrowed her platform down to just one topic as has been done in the past,' Grisham told CNN. 'Mrs. Trump wishes to help the next generation by creating change through awareness on a variety of issues that affect children.'
[size=34]Melania's lecture to the tweeter-in-chief: First Lady unveils her Be Best campaign urging children to use social media with 'compassion and respect' and warning 'too often it is used in a negative way' - as Trump claps enthusiastically[/size]
- First lady Melania Trump unveiled her new 'Be Best' campaign
- She announced a campaign to allow children to 'enjoy their innocence' and reassure them that there are supportive adults
- She said they should learn 'positive online behaviors'
- Stress on 'social, emotional, and physical health'
- Three pillars: well-being, social media use, and opioid abuse
- The first lady's approval rating has jumped 10 points since January
- Her unfavorable rating dropped by the same amount
- The bump coincided with intense interest in the alleged Stormy Daniels affair with her husband
- The president and First Lady Melania Trump's days diverge early in the morning when the president starts tweeting and Melania awakes in a separate room
- On Mar-a-Lago trips the president is gone for long stretches at his golf club
- The spend 'very little to no time together' said a friend
- Melania Trump has not commented on the Stormy Daniels scandal
- Rudy Giuliani said Trump was 'trying to help the family' with payment to silence porn star
- Melania Trump launches her initiatives today with Rose Garden speech 16 months after her husband took office
By GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:44 EDT, 7 May 2018 | UPDATED: 15:46 EDT, 7 May 2018
First Lady Melania Trump unveiled her new initiatives for the her husband’s administration – a vow to help kids ‘be best’ that included a stern lecture about appropriate online behavior while the Tweeter in chief sat just feet away from her.
The new initiative, which sprawls into three major areas, doesn't back away from an earlier push for 'positive' behavior online.
The first lady spoke alone at a podium from the Rose Garden, while her husband was seated in the front row of dignitaries who gathered to hear a rare public event for a private-minded first lady who didn't move to the White House until months into the administration.
'Talk to your kids about bullying. Tell your kids that they can't hide behind the words they type and the images they post or send,' she told the audience arranged by the White House.
'Bullying is a lose-lose situation: Hurtful messages make the target feel bad, and they make the sender look bad. Often they can bring scorn from peers and punishment from authorities,' Melania Trump said.
President Trump sat in front and listened.
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BE BEST: Melania Trump unveiled her new initiative at the White House
Her plea came on a day when Trump railed against the 'Phony Witch Hunt' of the Russia probe, blasted a pair of FBI lovers, went after former Secretary of State John Kerry's 'possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy,' and said GOP Senate candidate Don Blankenship 'can't win' in West Virginia.
Trump also sent out a tweet announcing he had reached a decision on the Iran deal just minutes before his wife was to take the stage.
'Melania, your care and compassion for our nation’s children and I have to say this and I say it all the time, inspires us all,' the president told her after her remarks, before signing a 'Be Best' proclamation.
'I think you all know who is going to get the pen. Thank you,' the president concluded.
'My hope is that together we can be best at helping children and families find effective ways to educate themselves and help each other,' the first lady said, calling to make a 'real difference.'
Her campaign doesn't contain the label of stopping 'cyber bullying' – a topic that drew ridicule because of her husband's constant online attacks on his rivals.
But the first lady does want kids to develop 'positive online behaviors' and 'choose their words wisely' online, and learn to 'speak with respect and compassion.
The rollout for the new push had the feel of a family garden party, with the Marine Band providing musical accompaniment in the White House rose garden.
Ivnaka Trump, Jared Kushner, Kellyanne Conway, and top cabinet officials including Steven Mnuchin attended.
President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence also turned out on a sunny day.
''Together, I believe we should strive to provide kids with the tools they need to cultivate their social and emotional health,' she said.
Aides kept the substantive content of her rollout a secret until just minutes before she took a podium alone just steps from the Oval Office.
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THE BEST IS YET TO COME: U.S. first lady Melania Trump delivers remarks at the "launch of her Be Best initiatives in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 7, 2018.
There were two large banners displaying the new 'Be Best' logo. President Trump was seated in the front row of a gathering
'As we all know, social media can both positively and negatively affect our children,' Melania Trump said.
Speaking in heavily-accented English due to her Slovenian background, she continued: 'When children learn positive online behaviors early-on, social media can be used in productive ways and can affect positive change.'
Members of the press – derided as ‘fake news’ by President Trump – were provided with red white and blue cookies that carried the new ‘Be Best’ logo.
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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump 'spend very little to no time together,' according to a friend of the president's
‘The mission of Be Best is to focus on the major issues facing children today, with the goal of encouraging children to Be Best in their individual paths, while also teacing them the importance of social, emotional, and physical health,’ according to a PR packet. ‘Be Best will concentrate on three main pillars: well-being, social media, and opioid abuse.’
Melania Trump has achieved a new high in her personal approval rating – even as her husband battles the Stormy Daniels allegations and the Russia probe.
The first lady's public approval rating hit 57 per cent in a new CNN poll, up ten percentage points from mid-January.
At the start of the year, the first lady's approval rating was 47 per cent, with an unfavorable rating of 37 per cent.
By contrast, her husband's approval rating is at 42 percent in the latest fivethirtyeight average.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are living highly public – and mostly separate – lives.
'They spend very little to no time together,' a longtime friend of the president told the Washington Post, as Melania prepares to roll out her own White House initiatives to focus on children.
Although the pair are sometimes photographed smiling in public as when they attend joint events or board government aircraft en route to Mar-a-Lago, they spend considerable time apart.
They have separate bedrooms inside the White House, and Trump awakes at early hours to lob tweets at his rivals.
'They are not that couple that holds hands just because; she is old-world European and it's not who she is,' said Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who previously held a volunteer White House job and whose firm got paid $1.62 million for consulting and production related to Trump's inauguration.
Her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, knocked down a 'persistent rumor' that the first lady doesn't even live in the White House and stays with her parents near son Barron Trump's school.
'It's 1,000 percent false. We laugh at it all the time,' said Grisham. White House social secretary Rickie Niceta Lloyd called it an ''urban legend.'
The two have carved out largely separate public lives. While the president makes regular appearances with his cabinet, staff aides, and world leaders, the first lady focuses on her own, less-frequent events.
When the couple travels to Florida for weekends, the only image of them together is frequently of them boarding and de-boarding an aircraft.
President Trump sent his wife birthday wishes during an appearance on Fox News last month where he said: 'Maybe, I didn't get her so much. I got her a beautiful card, you know I'm very busy to be running out looking for presents.'
She hasn't spoken about the Stormy Daniels scandal that has rocked his administration.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is representing Trump, said he was 'trying to help the family' with a $130,000 payment to silence porn star. Daniels alleges she had a sexual affair with Trump while Melania was pregnant with Barron.
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Melania Trump launches her initiatives today with Rose Garden speech 16 months after her husband took office. She will focus on children's issues
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WHITE HAT: First Lady Melania Trump listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the arrival ceremony for President Macron on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, April 24, 2018
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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hold hands as they stand in front of the casket as the late evangelist Billy Graham lies in honor in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. February 28, 2018
Aside from the president's solo trips, the family spends most evenings together.' She also played down the headlines about Trump's alleged affairs and said Melania 'is focused on being a mom. She's focused on being a wife, and she's focused on her role as first lady. And that's it. The rest is just noise.'
During the funeral for Barbara Bush, it was Melania Trump who flew to Texas to represent the administration, appearing with former presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton.
According to her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump will focus on issues relating to children during her time in the White House. She is rolling out her focus 16 months into the administration.
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First Lady Melania Trump throws a Christmas ornament as she makes garland with children in the East Wing as she tours holiday decorations at the White House in Washington, DC, November 27, 2017
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Stephanie Clifford aka 'Stormy Daniels' during 'Michael Cohen Wiretap Cold Open' on 'Saturday Night Live'
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Amalija and Viktor Knavs, parents of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, arrive with their lawyer Michael Wildes (C) at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, May 2, 2018 in New York City. The Knavs were scheduled to have a meeting concerning their U.S. citizenship applications
She previously said she would focus on cyber bullying – a topic she acknowledged has drawn scrutiny thanks to her husbands use of Twitter to pound his opponents.
'As has been evidenced by the many events Mrs. Trump has participated in during her time as first lady, her focus will be the overall well-being of children. Something unique though: She has not narrowed her platform down to just one topic as has been done in the past,' Grisham told CNN. 'Mrs. Trump wishes to help the next generation by creating change through awareness on a variety of issues that affect children.'
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by Donnamarie Tue 08 May 2018, 04:46
I’m not sure what to make of Melania. She seems to be handling this whole First Lady thing in a dignified manner but she’s also a total contradiction. I think it’s great that she wants to make her White House initiative about children. But I think it doesn’t make sense that she wanted to address cyber bullying considering the obvious. It’s crazy and totally hypocritical. Now I read that with the announcement of her “Be Best” initiative she with the assistance of the Federal Trade Commission put out a document about her plan. Problem is the document is pretty much word for word an FTC document put out in 2014 and a part of a campaign started back in 2009 by the Obama Administration. What gives? First Melania practically recites a Michelle Obama speech at the Republican Convention back in 2016 and now this?
Donnamarie- Possibly more Clooney than George himself
- Posts : 5881
Join date : 2014-08-26
Location : Washington, DC
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Tue 08 May 2018, 10:42
I think she had to do something , so they took the idea from the Obama administration. She isn't the brightest wheel so what does she know.
But , you would think the people guiding her would know better than to use anything form the Obama administration,
that is so noticeable.
But , you would think the people guiding her would know better than to use anything form the Obama administration,
that is so noticeable.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Tue 08 May 2018, 17:04
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5702837/Failing-honour-Iran-nuclear-deal-Kim-Jong-trust-US.html
[size=34]Failing to honour Iran nuclear deal will show Kim Jong-un he can't trust the US to keep its word, Trump is warned[/size]
By JAMES TAPSFIELD, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:21 EDT, 8 May 2018 | UPDATED: 07:00 EDT, 8 May 2018
Failing to honour the Iran nuclear deal will show Kim Jong-un he cannot trust the US to keep its word, Donald Trump was warned today.
Senior politicians from around the world have been making last-ditch efforts to stop the US president pulling out of the pact with Tehran.
But the prospects of changing Mr Trump's mind ahead of a final announcement this evening appear to be dwindling.
Former Cabinet minister Lord Hague said withdrawing from the agreement would 'broadcast a message that Washington does not honour its word'.
The warning comes after Boris Johnson used a trip to Washington to urge Mr Trump to be 'realistic' about what can be done to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, saying there was no acceptable 'Plan B'.
Mr Trump has fiercely criticised the deal negotiated under Barack Obama, which eased sanctions on Tehran in exchange for commitments to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
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US president Donald Trump has fiercely criticised the agreement with Iran, which eased sanctions in exchange for commitments to abandon its nuclear weapons programme
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Former Cabinet minister Lord Hague (left) warned that Kim Jong-Un (right) would find it difficult to trust the word of the US if Trump rips up the Iran deal
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Appearing on the Fox & Friends programme yesterday - known to be Mr Trump's favourite news show - Mr Johnson said the president had a 'legitimate point' that the Iran pact was not perfect
There has been speculation he will stop short of torpedoing it altogether - potentially exempting European firms who trade with Iran from sanctions.
EU states have said they will try to hold the package together even if the US withdraws cooperation.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Lord Hague said that ripping up the deal would be a 'very great error'.
He wrote: 'If he is wavering, he should picture himself sitting across from Kim (Jong-Un) in the near future.
'Ending the Iran deal would mean that what the US signs up to in one year, it can abrogate three years later.
'And that in turn would not bode well for an agreement with North Korea or the stability of the Middle East - and thereby for the peace of the world.'
Appearing on the Fox & Friends programme yesterday - known to be Mr Trump's favourite news show - Mr Johnson said the president had a 'legitimate point' that the pact was not perfect.
But he appealed for the US not to throw the 'baby out with the bathwater' by ditching the arrangements altogether.
'If you do that you have to answer the question what next? 'What if the Iranians do rush for a nuclear weapon?' he said.
'Are we seriously saying that we are going to bomb those facilities at Fordo and Natanz?
'Is that really a realistic possibility? Or do we work round what we have got and push back on Iran together?'
Mr Johnson added: 'Plan B does not seem to me to be particularly well-developed at this stage.'
In an article for the New York Times, Mr Johnson admitted the pact with Iran had 'weaknesses' but insisted it was the best way of defusing the standoff.
The Foreign Secretary is holding two days of talks with senior administration officials including vice president Mike Pence.
He will also meet national security adviser John Bolton and key foreign policy leaders in Congress - although he will not get to sit down with Mr Trump himself.
As well as Iran, Mr Johnson's talks are expected to cover North Korea – ahead of President Trump's planned meeting with Kim Jong-un – and the situation in Syria.
In a separate interview during the visit, Mr Johnson appeared to hold out an incentive for Mr Trump to do a deal on Iran - suggesting he could end up winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
He told Sky News: 'If he can fix North Korea and if he can fix the Iran nuclear deal then I don't see why he is any less of a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize than Barack Obama, who got it before he even did anything.'
Writing in the New York Times today, Mr Johnson said: 'Of all the options we have for ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, this pact offers the fewest disadvantages.
'It has weaknesses, certainly, but I am convinced they can be remedied. Indeed at this moment Britain is working alongside the Trump administration and our French and German allies to ensure that they are.'
Mr Johnson said the deal had put restrictions on Iran's nuclear programme and 'now that these handcuffs are in place, I see no possible advantage in casting them aside'.
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Iran president Hassan Rouhani has warned Mr Trump the West will regret 'like never before' if it sinks the nuclear deal with his country
'Only Iran would gain from abandoning the restrictions on its nuclear programme,' he warned, adding: 'At this delicate juncture, it would be a mistake to walk away from the nuclear agreement and remove the restraints that it places on Iran.
'The UK's ambassador to the United States Sir Kim Darroch said the Iran agreement was 'a good deal' but efforts were ongoing to 'find some language, produce some action that meets the president's concerns'.
Mr Trump has threatened to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal signed by the US, China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain with Iran.
Under its terms Iran is committed to a peaceful nuclear energy programme.
But Mr Trump has been a vocal critic of the agreement and in January issued an ultimatum to 'either fix the deal's disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw'.
In a magazine interview, French President Emmanuel Macron warned a decision by Trump to withdraw could lead to war.
'We would open the Pandora's box. There could be war,' Macron told German weekly magazine Der Spiegel, adding 'I don't think that Donald Trump wants war.'
Macron urged Trump not to withdraw when he met him in Washington late last month.
Earlier this month Mr Johnson stressed the importance of keeping the deal 'while building on it in order to take account of the legitimate concerns of the US'.
The European Union has said the deal 'is working and it needs to be preserved'.
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French President Emmanuel Macron has warned scrapping the deal could lead to war and lobbied Mr Trump on a recent visit to Washington
[size=34]Failing to honour Iran nuclear deal will show Kim Jong-un he can't trust the US to keep its word, Trump is warned[/size]
- Foreign Secretary spending two days in Washington lobbying on Iran deal
- Johnson will meet vice president Pence and the new Secretary of State
- International effort underway to save Iran deal amid fears of war if it collapses
By JAMES TAPSFIELD, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:21 EDT, 8 May 2018 | UPDATED: 07:00 EDT, 8 May 2018
Failing to honour the Iran nuclear deal will show Kim Jong-un he cannot trust the US to keep its word, Donald Trump was warned today.
Senior politicians from around the world have been making last-ditch efforts to stop the US president pulling out of the pact with Tehran.
But the prospects of changing Mr Trump's mind ahead of a final announcement this evening appear to be dwindling.
Former Cabinet minister Lord Hague said withdrawing from the agreement would 'broadcast a message that Washington does not honour its word'.
The warning comes after Boris Johnson used a trip to Washington to urge Mr Trump to be 'realistic' about what can be done to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, saying there was no acceptable 'Plan B'.
Mr Trump has fiercely criticised the deal negotiated under Barack Obama, which eased sanctions on Tehran in exchange for commitments to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
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US president Donald Trump has fiercely criticised the agreement with Iran, which eased sanctions in exchange for commitments to abandon its nuclear weapons programme
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Former Cabinet minister Lord Hague (left) warned that Kim Jong-Un (right) would find it difficult to trust the word of the US if Trump rips up the Iran deal
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Appearing on the Fox & Friends programme yesterday - known to be Mr Trump's favourite news show - Mr Johnson said the president had a 'legitimate point' that the Iran pact was not perfect
There has been speculation he will stop short of torpedoing it altogether - potentially exempting European firms who trade with Iran from sanctions.
EU states have said they will try to hold the package together even if the US withdraws cooperation.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Lord Hague said that ripping up the deal would be a 'very great error'.
He wrote: 'If he is wavering, he should picture himself sitting across from Kim (Jong-Un) in the near future.
'Ending the Iran deal would mean that what the US signs up to in one year, it can abrogate three years later.
'And that in turn would not bode well for an agreement with North Korea or the stability of the Middle East - and thereby for the peace of the world.'
Appearing on the Fox & Friends programme yesterday - known to be Mr Trump's favourite news show - Mr Johnson said the president had a 'legitimate point' that the pact was not perfect.
But he appealed for the US not to throw the 'baby out with the bathwater' by ditching the arrangements altogether.
'If you do that you have to answer the question what next? 'What if the Iranians do rush for a nuclear weapon?' he said.
'Are we seriously saying that we are going to bomb those facilities at Fordo and Natanz?
'Is that really a realistic possibility? Or do we work round what we have got and push back on Iran together?'
Mr Johnson added: 'Plan B does not seem to me to be particularly well-developed at this stage.'
In an article for the New York Times, Mr Johnson admitted the pact with Iran had 'weaknesses' but insisted it was the best way of defusing the standoff.
The Foreign Secretary is holding two days of talks with senior administration officials including vice president Mike Pence.
He will also meet national security adviser John Bolton and key foreign policy leaders in Congress - although he will not get to sit down with Mr Trump himself.
As well as Iran, Mr Johnson's talks are expected to cover North Korea – ahead of President Trump's planned meeting with Kim Jong-un – and the situation in Syria.
In a separate interview during the visit, Mr Johnson appeared to hold out an incentive for Mr Trump to do a deal on Iran - suggesting he could end up winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
He told Sky News: 'If he can fix North Korea and if he can fix the Iran nuclear deal then I don't see why he is any less of a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize than Barack Obama, who got it before he even did anything.'
Writing in the New York Times today, Mr Johnson said: 'Of all the options we have for ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, this pact offers the fewest disadvantages.
'It has weaknesses, certainly, but I am convinced they can be remedied. Indeed at this moment Britain is working alongside the Trump administration and our French and German allies to ensure that they are.'
Mr Johnson said the deal had put restrictions on Iran's nuclear programme and 'now that these handcuffs are in place, I see no possible advantage in casting them aside'.
+6
Iran president Hassan Rouhani has warned Mr Trump the West will regret 'like never before' if it sinks the nuclear deal with his country
'Only Iran would gain from abandoning the restrictions on its nuclear programme,' he warned, adding: 'At this delicate juncture, it would be a mistake to walk away from the nuclear agreement and remove the restraints that it places on Iran.
'The UK's ambassador to the United States Sir Kim Darroch said the Iran agreement was 'a good deal' but efforts were ongoing to 'find some language, produce some action that meets the president's concerns'.
Mr Trump has threatened to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal signed by the US, China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain with Iran.
Under its terms Iran is committed to a peaceful nuclear energy programme.
But Mr Trump has been a vocal critic of the agreement and in January issued an ultimatum to 'either fix the deal's disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw'.
In a magazine interview, French President Emmanuel Macron warned a decision by Trump to withdraw could lead to war.
'We would open the Pandora's box. There could be war,' Macron told German weekly magazine Der Spiegel, adding 'I don't think that Donald Trump wants war.'
Macron urged Trump not to withdraw when he met him in Washington late last month.
Earlier this month Mr Johnson stressed the importance of keeping the deal 'while building on it in order to take account of the legitimate concerns of the US'.
The European Union has said the deal 'is working and it needs to be preserved'.
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French President Emmanuel Macron has warned scrapping the deal could lead to war and lobbied Mr Trump on a recent visit to Washington
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Tue 08 May 2018, 19:51
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5705517/Trump-pulls-U-S-Iran-deal-calling-DISASTER.html
[size=34]BREAKING NEWS: Trump pulls U.S. OUT of Iran nuclear deal calling it 'disastrous' and accuses Iranian regime of LYING to pursue the bomb[/size]
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:22 EDT, 8 May 2018 | UPDATED: 14:46 EDT, 8 May 2018
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's ditching the Iran nuclear deal, calling it 'disastrous' and an 'embarrassment.'
Trump said that the U.S. now has 'definitive proof' that Iran was lying about its pursuit of nuclear weapons when it entered into the 2015 agreement.
And he threatened Tehran's mullahs with new headaches if they resume their pursuit of a weapon of mass destruction.
'If the regime continues its nuclear aspirations, it will have bigger problems than it has ever had before,' the president warned.
'It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement,' he said.
'The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen: In just a short period of time, the world's leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world's most dangerous weapons.'
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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's ditching the Iran nuclear deal, calling it 'disastrous' and an 'embarrassment'
Trump said he is putting the highest level of sanctions on Tehran, and the U.S. will punish any country that helps Iran in its quest.
'America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail,' Trump asserted in remarks from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House.
Tehran says it's unwilling to enter into a new agreement with the U.S. that encompasses Trump's other complaints about the rogue regime's behavior, including its illicit financing of terrorism.
'That's fine. I'd probably say the same thing if I were in their position,' Trump said Tuesday. 'But the fact is they are probably going to want to make a new and lasting deal. ... When they do I am ready willing and able.'
It came as no surprise globally that Trump announced the United States' withdraw from the pact he inherited from the previous administration. The big unknown was what would happen next.
Trump said the U.S. would impose new sanctions on countries that help Iran in its quest for a nuclear weapon but did not say what he would do to companies that may have unrelated business deals with the Islamist nation.
Trump's legislative director, Marc Short, told DailyMail.com on Tuesday morning that the president 'wants to see Iran end its nuclear program but also become a nation that is not funding terrorism, not attacking Israel not looking to continue to attack allies that we have.
'I think he's looking for an agreement that brings Iran into the international community as opposed to being a rogue nation state that funds terrorism,' Short said during a press scrum on the driveway leading into the West Wing.
Trump is anticipated to allow the oil sanctions that legally come up for discussion every 120 days under the deal to be reimposed on Tehran. The sanctions cut Iran's oil exports in half in 2012, Foreign Policy reports, and crippled the Islamic Republic's economy.
European companies will have to choose, if the sanctions are slapped back on, whether they want to do business with the U.S. or the taboo government, putting them in an undesirable position.
Trump is said to have informed informed France's Emmanuel Macron in a phone call this morning that he will pull the U.S. out the nuclear deal it signed onto three years ago after intense negotiations with Tehran.
The New York Times reports that a person briefed on the conversation said Trump plans to reinstate all of the sanctions the U.S. waived in conjunction with the nuclear deal. Trump also plans to impose additional sanctions on Tehran, the Times' source said.
Macron's office told Reuters that the Times' report was incorrect. However, European officials told the wire service that they did expect Trump to announce that he was exiting the accord.
Trump's anticipated action had U.S. allies on edge. A senior British diplomat told DailyMail.com the U.K. was 'deeply pessimistic' ahead of public Trump's announcement today.
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Iran's Hasan Rouhani (right) said the U.S. will have 'historic remorse' for its decision while insisting that 'getting rid of America’s mischievous presence will be fine for Iran'
European leaders whose countries are party to the deal have been begging Trump to remain in the agreement.
It could fall apart without U.S. participation while the follow-on accord he demanded is worked out, they've said. European officials have also warned Trump that Tehran could set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East if it restarts its uranium enrichment program.
Iran's Hassan Rouhani was vowing to stick by the deal that provided massive sanctions relief on Monday, so long as Europe guarantees that his country's interests will be protected. It was unclear in the lead-up to Trump's decision, though, if that would realistically be the case.
Rouhani said the U.S. will have 'historic remorse' for its decision while insisting that 'getting rid of America’s mischievous presence will be fine for Iran.'
'If we can get what we want from a deal without America, then Iran will continue to remain committed to the deal,' Rouhani said according to the Iran Daily. 'What Iran wants is our interests to be guaranteed by non-American signatories.'
Trump is said to have informed informed France's Emmanuel Macron in a phone call this morning that he will pull the U.S. out the nuclear deal it signed onto three years ago after intense negotiations with Tehran.
The New York Times reports that a person briefed on the conversation said Trump plans to reinstate all of the sanctions the U.S. waived in conjunction with the nuclear deal. Trump also plans to impose additional sanctions on Tehran, the Times' source said.
Macron's office told Reuters that the Times' report was incorrect. However, European officials told the wire service that they did expect Trump to announce that he was exiting the accord.
Trump's anticipated action had U.S. allies on edge. A senior British diplomat told DailyMail.com the U.K. was 'deeply pessimistic' ahead of public Trump's announcement today.
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President Donald Trump informed France's Emmanuel Macron in a phone call this morning that he will pull the U.S. out the nuclear deal it signed onto three years ago after intense negotiations with Tehran
John Glaser, director of foreign policy studies at the right-leaning Cato Institute, warned Tuesday that if the U.S. imposes external sanctions successfully, European companies will pull out of investment projects in Iran, removing the incentives that Rouhani would need to mollify hardliners in his country who want Iran to restart its nuclear program.
'With lots of political will this deal could remain in place without the United States, but its going to be very, very difficult for the participants to manage,' Glaser said.
Iran will feel 'unburdened' if the U.S. leaves the pact, he said, and is likely to install new centrifuges to spin uranium and limit access to inspectors.
'This could really unravel into something with grave consequences,' he cautioned. 'All my fingers and toes are crossed, because this is a good deal that should continue to be implemented.'
U.K. foreign minister Boris Johnson worried that Trump could take military action against Tehran on top of the expected sanctions renewal. He also warned that collapse of the deal could set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the U.A.E. wanting weapons, as well.
'It's already a very, very dangerous state at the moment, we don't want to go down that road. There doesn't seem to me at the moment to be a viable military solution,' Johnson told Fox & Friends.
Johnson was in the U.S. making last-ditch pleas for the U.S. to stay in the deal to Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, the U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence and the president's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, both of whom are senior White House officials.
Trump teased his Iran deal announcement in a Monday afternoon tweet that provided no hints at what it would be
He told Obama era Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday morning that he needs to butt out - or else
Trump on Monday called Kerry's intervention 'possibly illegal' and blamed him for the current arrangement that gave Tehran sanctions relief but would allow it to build nuclear bombs as soon as 2027
Commenting on the talks on Tuesday, a senior British diplomat told DailyMail.com that Johnson in the meetings noted 'our frank views on its shortcomings in regards to broader Iranian activity in the Middle East.
'Following the visit, unfortunately we are deeply pessimistic ahead of President Trump’s announcement later today,' the person said. 'However, we will have to wait and see what exactly President Trump says.'
The diplomat said, 'Our objective will remain to uphold and maintain the JCPOA. We will need to wait to understand what the US plan is to deliver on our shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and addressing their regional behaviour.'
Trump at a news conference last month rebuffed a reporter who asked about potential military action against Iran.
'I don't talk about whether or not I would use military force,' Trump said at a joint presser with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 'But I can tell you this, they will not be doing nuclear weapons. That I can tell you. OK? They are not going to be doing nuclear weapons. You can bank on it.'
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing Trump to take a more aggressive posture toward Iran, his nation's most prolific antagonist.
Netanyahu delivered a presentation last week claiming Israel's intelligence agency had proof that Iran 'lied' about its intention to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
Trump complained about the nuclear deal consistently during his campaign and harangued it as a 'very badly negotiated' agreement in a tweet Monday that took aim at the secretary of state who helped to broker it.
The comment followed his remarks at a news conference alongside Macron that the deal was made 'decayed foundations' and was not structured to last.
'Should have never, ever been made. I blame Congress. I blame a lot of people for it,' Trump said.
Trump has until May 12 to decide whether he wants to allow a sanctions waiver that applies to Tehran to expire.
If the sanctions go back into effect, the U.S. will be in violation of the agreement effectively ending its participation in the deal it entered into with the U.K., France, China, Russia and Germany.
Trump has said he would be willing to sign on to a companion agreement that encompasses the nuclear aspects of the current one and applies new pressure to Iran to abandon its ballistic missiles program, end terrorist financing and broker a peace agreement between the ruling government and rebels in Syria.
Macron told Trump last month that he would pursue such an agreement on behalf of Europe. The French president told reporters after his White House visit that he suspected Trump would leave the 2015 accord in the meantime to hasten the process up.
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Kerry (left) is seen with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in 2016; Kerry met with Zarif last month for secret talks about how to undermine Trump's bid to kill the nuclear deal
Hinting at the action he is anticipated to take today Trump told Macron publicly, 'I think we will have a great shot at doing a much bigger maybe deal, maybe not deal. We’re going to find out, but we’ll know fairly soon.'
He also said 'nobody knows what I’m going to do on the 12th, although, Mr. President, you have a pretty good idea — but we’ll see.
'But we’ll see also, if I do what some people expect, whether or not it will be possible to do a new deal with solid foundations,' he said. 'Because this a deal with decayed foundations. It’s a bad deal. It’s a bad structure. It’s falling down.'
Trump charged then in his most confrontational comments yet to Tehran that, 'If Iran threatens us in any way, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid.'
Shedding light on his plans last Monday, Trump said a press conference: 'I’m not telling you what I’m doing, but a lot of people think they know. And on or before the 12th, we’ll make a decision.
'That doesn’t mean we won’t negotiate a real agreement,' he added.
Trump's White House spokeswoman and the president appeared to be on different wavelengths about the timing of that declaration on Monday, with Sarah Sanders saying at news conference that he would be making an 'announcement on what his decision is soon' only to have Trump tweet minutes later that it would come on Tuesday.
'As you know he's got a few days to do that, and we'll let you know when he's ready to make a decision on it,' she said.
She also suggested that former Secretary of State John Kerry needs to butt out of negotiations after his secret meetings with foreign leaders were revealed.
Trump blasted Kerry on Tuesday morning as he prepared to take the U.S. foreign policy in a new direction.
'John Kerry can’t get over the fact that he had his chance and blew it! Stay away from negotiations John, you are hurting your country!' Trump said.
The president had already spoken out about Kerry's 'shadow diplomacy' on Monday following news reports that the Obama administration official has secretly met with foreign governments in a bid to save the much-maligned deal.
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Kerry has also been meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron (right) in attempts to salvage the Iran deal
The Boston Globe reported Friday that Kerry quietly met two weeks ago with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and had separate confabs with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French President Emmanuel Macron – all to strategize against Trump's intention to upend the deal.
'The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal,' the president wrote Monday on Twitter. 'He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!'
Sanders told reporters on Monday that Kerry's advocacy won't make a difference as Trump weighs what to do.
'I don't think that we would take advice from somebody who created what the president sees as one of the worst deals ever made,' she said. 'I don't see why we would start listening to him now.'
A spokesman for Kerry issued a statement late Monday morning, defending his apparent habit of lobbying foreign governments as a civilian, potentially in violation of an obscure U.S. law known as the Logan Act.
'I think every American would want every voice possible urging Iran to remain in compliance with the nuclear agreement that prevented a war,' the statement said.
'Secretary Kerry stays in touch with his former counterparts around the world just like every previous Secretary of State. Like America's closest allies, he believes it is important that the nuclear agreement, which took the world years to negotiate, remain effective as countries focus on stability in the region.'
Kerry's tenure as secretary of state ended when Trump took office in January of 2017. Trump replaced him with the since-fired Rex Tillerson. Mike Pompeo holds the Cabinet-level position now.
Kerry could run afoul of the Logan Act, a 200+ year-old federal law that made it a felony for civilians to conduct foreign policy without authorization
The Logan Act makes it a felony for unauthorized civilians to conduct foreign policy with nations that are in the midst of a dispute with the United States.
The statute dates back to 1799 and has only been used twice to indict people – in 1803 and 1852. Neither was convicted.
One defendant, a Peruvian admiral, was prosecuted for writing a letter to the president of Mexico to scuttle a competitor's bid to build a railroad connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The other was a farmer charged with the crime of writing a newspaper article urging western U.S. states to secede and join neighboring French territories.
Some legal scholars have written that the Logan Act is unconstitutional, and only remains on the books because it hasn't been tested in court.
[size=34]BREAKING NEWS: Trump pulls U.S. OUT of Iran nuclear deal calling it 'disastrous' and accuses Iranian regime of LYING to pursue the bomb[/size]
- Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will reimpose sanctions on Iran and punish any country that helps in its pursuit of nuclear weapons
- 'America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail,' he said in remarks from the Diplomatic Reception room of the White House
- Trump faced a May 12 deadline to decide what to do with the 2015 pact from which he said during his campaign that he'd extract the U.S.
- The United States' European allies were begging Trump in the lead-up to the announcement to stay in the pact
- Trump's new secretary of state was not on hand Tuesday
- The president said during his remarks that Mike Pompeo was an hour out from North Korea
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 14:22 EDT, 8 May 2018 | UPDATED: 14:46 EDT, 8 May 2018
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's ditching the Iran nuclear deal, calling it 'disastrous' and an 'embarrassment.'
Trump said that the U.S. now has 'definitive proof' that Iran was lying about its pursuit of nuclear weapons when it entered into the 2015 agreement.
And he threatened Tehran's mullahs with new headaches if they resume their pursuit of a weapon of mass destruction.
'If the regime continues its nuclear aspirations, it will have bigger problems than it has ever had before,' the president warned.
'It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement,' he said.
'The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen: In just a short period of time, the world's leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world's most dangerous weapons.'
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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's ditching the Iran nuclear deal, calling it 'disastrous' and an 'embarrassment'
Trump said he is putting the highest level of sanctions on Tehran, and the U.S. will punish any country that helps Iran in its quest.
'America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail,' Trump asserted in remarks from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House.
Tehran says it's unwilling to enter into a new agreement with the U.S. that encompasses Trump's other complaints about the rogue regime's behavior, including its illicit financing of terrorism.
'That's fine. I'd probably say the same thing if I were in their position,' Trump said Tuesday. 'But the fact is they are probably going to want to make a new and lasting deal. ... When they do I am ready willing and able.'
It came as no surprise globally that Trump announced the United States' withdraw from the pact he inherited from the previous administration. The big unknown was what would happen next.
Trump said the U.S. would impose new sanctions on countries that help Iran in its quest for a nuclear weapon but did not say what he would do to companies that may have unrelated business deals with the Islamist nation.
Trump's legislative director, Marc Short, told DailyMail.com on Tuesday morning that the president 'wants to see Iran end its nuclear program but also become a nation that is not funding terrorism, not attacking Israel not looking to continue to attack allies that we have.
'I think he's looking for an agreement that brings Iran into the international community as opposed to being a rogue nation state that funds terrorism,' Short said during a press scrum on the driveway leading into the West Wing.
Trump is anticipated to allow the oil sanctions that legally come up for discussion every 120 days under the deal to be reimposed on Tehran. The sanctions cut Iran's oil exports in half in 2012, Foreign Policy reports, and crippled the Islamic Republic's economy.
European companies will have to choose, if the sanctions are slapped back on, whether they want to do business with the U.S. or the taboo government, putting them in an undesirable position.
Trump is said to have informed informed France's Emmanuel Macron in a phone call this morning that he will pull the U.S. out the nuclear deal it signed onto three years ago after intense negotiations with Tehran.
The New York Times reports that a person briefed on the conversation said Trump plans to reinstate all of the sanctions the U.S. waived in conjunction with the nuclear deal. Trump also plans to impose additional sanctions on Tehran, the Times' source said.
Macron's office told Reuters that the Times' report was incorrect. However, European officials told the wire service that they did expect Trump to announce that he was exiting the accord.
Trump's anticipated action had U.S. allies on edge. A senior British diplomat told DailyMail.com the U.K. was 'deeply pessimistic' ahead of public Trump's announcement today.
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Iran's Hasan Rouhani (right) said the U.S. will have 'historic remorse' for its decision while insisting that 'getting rid of America’s mischievous presence will be fine for Iran'
European leaders whose countries are party to the deal have been begging Trump to remain in the agreement.
It could fall apart without U.S. participation while the follow-on accord he demanded is worked out, they've said. European officials have also warned Trump that Tehran could set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East if it restarts its uranium enrichment program.
Iran's Hassan Rouhani was vowing to stick by the deal that provided massive sanctions relief on Monday, so long as Europe guarantees that his country's interests will be protected. It was unclear in the lead-up to Trump's decision, though, if that would realistically be the case.
Rouhani said the U.S. will have 'historic remorse' for its decision while insisting that 'getting rid of America’s mischievous presence will be fine for Iran.'
'If we can get what we want from a deal without America, then Iran will continue to remain committed to the deal,' Rouhani said according to the Iran Daily. 'What Iran wants is our interests to be guaranteed by non-American signatories.'
Trump is said to have informed informed France's Emmanuel Macron in a phone call this morning that he will pull the U.S. out the nuclear deal it signed onto three years ago after intense negotiations with Tehran.
The New York Times reports that a person briefed on the conversation said Trump plans to reinstate all of the sanctions the U.S. waived in conjunction with the nuclear deal. Trump also plans to impose additional sanctions on Tehran, the Times' source said.
Macron's office told Reuters that the Times' report was incorrect. However, European officials told the wire service that they did expect Trump to announce that he was exiting the accord.
Trump's anticipated action had U.S. allies on edge. A senior British diplomat told DailyMail.com the U.K. was 'deeply pessimistic' ahead of public Trump's announcement today.
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President Donald Trump informed France's Emmanuel Macron in a phone call this morning that he will pull the U.S. out the nuclear deal it signed onto three years ago after intense negotiations with Tehran
John Glaser, director of foreign policy studies at the right-leaning Cato Institute, warned Tuesday that if the U.S. imposes external sanctions successfully, European companies will pull out of investment projects in Iran, removing the incentives that Rouhani would need to mollify hardliners in his country who want Iran to restart its nuclear program.
'With lots of political will this deal could remain in place without the United States, but its going to be very, very difficult for the participants to manage,' Glaser said.
Iran will feel 'unburdened' if the U.S. leaves the pact, he said, and is likely to install new centrifuges to spin uranium and limit access to inspectors.
'This could really unravel into something with grave consequences,' he cautioned. 'All my fingers and toes are crossed, because this is a good deal that should continue to be implemented.'
U.K. foreign minister Boris Johnson worried that Trump could take military action against Tehran on top of the expected sanctions renewal. He also warned that collapse of the deal could set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the U.A.E. wanting weapons, as well.
'It's already a very, very dangerous state at the moment, we don't want to go down that road. There doesn't seem to me at the moment to be a viable military solution,' Johnson told Fox & Friends.
Johnson was in the U.S. making last-ditch pleas for the U.S. to stay in the deal to Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, the U.S. secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, Vice President Mike Pence and the president's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, both of whom are senior White House officials.
Trump teased his Iran deal announcement in a Monday afternoon tweet that provided no hints at what it would be
He told Obama era Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday morning that he needs to butt out - or else
Trump on Monday called Kerry's intervention 'possibly illegal' and blamed him for the current arrangement that gave Tehran sanctions relief but would allow it to build nuclear bombs as soon as 2027
Commenting on the talks on Tuesday, a senior British diplomat told DailyMail.com that Johnson in the meetings noted 'our frank views on its shortcomings in regards to broader Iranian activity in the Middle East.
'Following the visit, unfortunately we are deeply pessimistic ahead of President Trump’s announcement later today,' the person said. 'However, we will have to wait and see what exactly President Trump says.'
The diplomat said, 'Our objective will remain to uphold and maintain the JCPOA. We will need to wait to understand what the US plan is to deliver on our shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and addressing their regional behaviour.'
Trump at a news conference last month rebuffed a reporter who asked about potential military action against Iran.
'I don't talk about whether or not I would use military force,' Trump said at a joint presser with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 'But I can tell you this, they will not be doing nuclear weapons. That I can tell you. OK? They are not going to be doing nuclear weapons. You can bank on it.'
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing Trump to take a more aggressive posture toward Iran, his nation's most prolific antagonist.
Netanyahu delivered a presentation last week claiming Israel's intelligence agency had proof that Iran 'lied' about its intention to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
Trump complained about the nuclear deal consistently during his campaign and harangued it as a 'very badly negotiated' agreement in a tweet Monday that took aim at the secretary of state who helped to broker it.
The comment followed his remarks at a news conference alongside Macron that the deal was made 'decayed foundations' and was not structured to last.
'Should have never, ever been made. I blame Congress. I blame a lot of people for it,' Trump said.
Trump has until May 12 to decide whether he wants to allow a sanctions waiver that applies to Tehran to expire.
If the sanctions go back into effect, the U.S. will be in violation of the agreement effectively ending its participation in the deal it entered into with the U.K., France, China, Russia and Germany.
Trump has said he would be willing to sign on to a companion agreement that encompasses the nuclear aspects of the current one and applies new pressure to Iran to abandon its ballistic missiles program, end terrorist financing and broker a peace agreement between the ruling government and rebels in Syria.
Macron told Trump last month that he would pursue such an agreement on behalf of Europe. The French president told reporters after his White House visit that he suspected Trump would leave the 2015 accord in the meantime to hasten the process up.
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Kerry (left) is seen with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in 2016; Kerry met with Zarif last month for secret talks about how to undermine Trump's bid to kill the nuclear deal
Hinting at the action he is anticipated to take today Trump told Macron publicly, 'I think we will have a great shot at doing a much bigger maybe deal, maybe not deal. We’re going to find out, but we’ll know fairly soon.'
He also said 'nobody knows what I’m going to do on the 12th, although, Mr. President, you have a pretty good idea — but we’ll see.
'But we’ll see also, if I do what some people expect, whether or not it will be possible to do a new deal with solid foundations,' he said. 'Because this a deal with decayed foundations. It’s a bad deal. It’s a bad structure. It’s falling down.'
Trump charged then in his most confrontational comments yet to Tehran that, 'If Iran threatens us in any way, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid.'
Shedding light on his plans last Monday, Trump said a press conference: 'I’m not telling you what I’m doing, but a lot of people think they know. And on or before the 12th, we’ll make a decision.
'That doesn’t mean we won’t negotiate a real agreement,' he added.
Trump's White House spokeswoman and the president appeared to be on different wavelengths about the timing of that declaration on Monday, with Sarah Sanders saying at news conference that he would be making an 'announcement on what his decision is soon' only to have Trump tweet minutes later that it would come on Tuesday.
'As you know he's got a few days to do that, and we'll let you know when he's ready to make a decision on it,' she said.
She also suggested that former Secretary of State John Kerry needs to butt out of negotiations after his secret meetings with foreign leaders were revealed.
Trump blasted Kerry on Tuesday morning as he prepared to take the U.S. foreign policy in a new direction.
'John Kerry can’t get over the fact that he had his chance and blew it! Stay away from negotiations John, you are hurting your country!' Trump said.
The president had already spoken out about Kerry's 'shadow diplomacy' on Monday following news reports that the Obama administration official has secretly met with foreign governments in a bid to save the much-maligned deal.
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Kerry has also been meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron (right) in attempts to salvage the Iran deal
The Boston Globe reported Friday that Kerry quietly met two weeks ago with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and had separate confabs with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French President Emmanuel Macron – all to strategize against Trump's intention to upend the deal.
'The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal,' the president wrote Monday on Twitter. 'He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!'
Sanders told reporters on Monday that Kerry's advocacy won't make a difference as Trump weighs what to do.
'I don't think that we would take advice from somebody who created what the president sees as one of the worst deals ever made,' she said. 'I don't see why we would start listening to him now.'
A spokesman for Kerry issued a statement late Monday morning, defending his apparent habit of lobbying foreign governments as a civilian, potentially in violation of an obscure U.S. law known as the Logan Act.
'I think every American would want every voice possible urging Iran to remain in compliance with the nuclear agreement that prevented a war,' the statement said.
'Secretary Kerry stays in touch with his former counterparts around the world just like every previous Secretary of State. Like America's closest allies, he believes it is important that the nuclear agreement, which took the world years to negotiate, remain effective as countries focus on stability in the region.'
Kerry's tenure as secretary of state ended when Trump took office in January of 2017. Trump replaced him with the since-fired Rex Tillerson. Mike Pompeo holds the Cabinet-level position now.
Kerry could run afoul of the Logan Act, a 200+ year-old federal law that made it a felony for civilians to conduct foreign policy without authorization
The Logan Act makes it a felony for unauthorized civilians to conduct foreign policy with nations that are in the midst of a dispute with the United States.
The statute dates back to 1799 and has only been used twice to indict people – in 1803 and 1852. Neither was convicted.
One defendant, a Peruvian admiral, was prosecuted for writing a letter to the president of Mexico to scuttle a competitor's bid to build a railroad connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The other was a farmer charged with the crime of writing a newspaper article urging western U.S. states to secede and join neighboring French territories.
Some legal scholars have written that the Logan Act is unconstitutional, and only remains on the books because it hasn't been tested in court.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by Donnamarie Tue 08 May 2018, 20:24
Well that’s a joke. Right? Wasn’t Trump accused of violating the Logan Act during the transition? Mike Flynn was secretly telling the Russians to just be cool and Trump will relieve the newly imposed sanctions that the Obama Administration has just imposed back in late 2016.
This is terrible news. But not unexpected from Trump. Makes me wonder what other significant Obama policy that is on Donald’s ‘to do’ list of eliminating. Wouldn’t put it past him to start the birther lies again. Anything to discredit Obama.
This is terrible news. But not unexpected from Trump. Makes me wonder what other significant Obama policy that is on Donald’s ‘to do’ list of eliminating. Wouldn’t put it past him to start the birther lies again. Anything to discredit Obama.
Donnamarie- Possibly more Clooney than George himself
- Posts : 5881
Join date : 2014-08-26
Location : Washington, DC
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by party animal - not! Tue 08 May 2018, 20:42
Mad.
And the need for a publicity build up all day......? Phones Macron ahead of it, blah-blah. Such a isolationist but doesn't seem to know or care about the consequences.
He deserves for Kim Jong Un and Sth Korea and Japan and China to just do deals with each other.........
And the need for a publicity build up all day......? Phones Macron ahead of it, blah-blah. Such a isolationist but doesn't seem to know or care about the consequences.
He deserves for Kim Jong Un and Sth Korea and Japan and China to just do deals with each other.........
party animal - not!- George Clooney fan forever!
- Posts : 12383
Join date : 2012-02-16
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Tue 08 May 2018, 21:57
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5705935/Obama-rebukes-Trump-Iran-deal-Tehran-likely-come-nuclear-armed.html
[size=34]BREAKING NEWS: Obama rebukes Trump for blowing up Iran deal as he warns the U.S. could face a losing choice - a nuclear-armed Tehran or a new war in the Middle East[/size]
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:10 EDT, 8 May 2018 | UPDATED: 16:43 EDT, 8 May 2018
Former President Barack Obama re-emerged on Tuesday to chide his successor for withdrawing the United States from an international agreement regulating Iran's nuclear activities.
Obama said in a long statement that he posted to social media accounts that Donald Trump had made 'a serious mistake' in reneging on the obligations the U.S. agreed to when it signed on to the accord.
'Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East,' he said.
If the deal falls apart because of Trump's action, Obama warned, 'We could be hastening the day when we are faced with the choice between living with that threat, or going to war to prevent it.'
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Former President Barack Obama reemerged on Tuesday to chide his predecessor for withdrawing the United States from an international agreement regulating Iran's nuclear activities
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Obama said in a long statement that he posted to social media accounts that Donald Trump had 'a serious mistake' in reneging on the United States' end of the accord
Lecturing the sitting president, Obama explained that his administration knew that the 2015 accord it helped to negotiate would not address every Iranian threat.
'We were clear-eyed that Iran engages in destabilizing behavior – including support for terrorism, and threats toward Israel and its neighbors,' he said. 'But that’s precisely why it was so important that we prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.'
'Every aspect of Iranian behavior that is troubling is far more dangerous if their nuclear program is unconstrained. Our ability to confront Iran’s destabilizing behavior – and to sustain a unity of purpose with our allies – is strengthened with the JCPOA, and weakened without it.'
Obama's secretary of state at the time the U.S. and Europe joined the alliance with China, Russia and Europe - John Kerry - also spoke out against Trump's decision.
'Instead of building on unprecedented nonproliferation verification measures, this decision risks throwing them away and dragging the world back to the brink we faced a few years ago,' Kerry said in a statement. 'The extent of the damage will depend on what Europe can do to hold the nuclear agreement together, and it will depend on Iran's reaction.'
Kerry said that Trump, who he did not reference by name, should not have oursourced those talks to Europe. 'This is not in America's interests,' he added.
Trump had personally assailed Kerry for settling for the deal at hand instead of pushing for something that had more teeth. He mocked the ex-diplomat in a Friday speech for a bike accident he had during talks in 2015 in France.
Since leaving office, Obama has kept a promise to extract himself from the political debate, except in instance when Trump has taken direct aim at policies that defined his presidency.
Obama inserted himself in the conversation on two notable occasions last year: when Congress sought to unravel Obamacare and when Trump announced his decision to rip the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement.
There are few issues more important to the security of the United States than the potential spread of nuclear weapons, or the potential for even more destructive war in the Middle East. That’s why the United States negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the first place.
The reality is clear. The JCPOA is working – that is a view shared by our European allies, independent experts, and the current U.S. Secretary of Defense. The JCPOA is in America’s interest – it has significantly rolled back Iran’s nuclear program. And the JCPOA is a model for what diplomacy can accomplish – its inspections and verification regime is precisely what the United States should be working to put in place with North Korea. Indeed, at a time when we are all rooting for diplomacy with North Korea to succeed, walking away from the JCPOA risks losing a deal that accomplishes – with Iran – the very outcome that we are pursuing with the North Koreans.
That is why today’s announcement is so misguided. Walking away from the JCPOA turns our back on America’s closest allies, and an agreement that our country’s leading diplomats, scientists, and intelligence professionals negotiated. In a democracy, there will always be changes in policies and priorities from one Administration to the next. But the consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America’s credibility, and puts us at odds with the world’s major powers.
Debates in our country should be informed by facts, especially debates that have proven to be divisive. So it’s important to review several facts about the JCPOA.
First, the JCPOA was not just an agreement between my Administration and the Iranian government. After years of building an international coalition that could impose crippling sanctions on Iran, we reached the JCPOA together with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the European Union, Russia, China, and Iran. It is a multilateral arms control deal, unanimously endorsed by a United Nations Security Council Resolution.
Second, the JCPOA has worked in rolling back Iran’s nuclear program. For decades, Iran had steadily advanced its nuclear program, approaching the point where they could rapidly produce enough fissile material to build a bomb. The JCPOA put a lid on that breakout capacity. Since the JCPOA was implemented, Iran has destroyed the core of a reactor that could have produced weapons-grade plutonium; removed two-thirds of its centrifuges (over 13,000) and placed them under international monitoring; and eliminated 97 percent of its stockpile of enriched uranium – the raw materials necessary for a bomb. So by any measure, the JCPOA has imposed strict limitations on Iran's nuclear program and achieved real results.
Third, the JCPOA does not rely on trust – it is rooted in the most far-reaching inspections and verification regime ever negotiated in an arms control deal. Iran’s nuclear facilities are strictly monitored. International monitors also have access to Iran’s entire nuclear supply chain, so that we can catch them if they cheat. Without the JCPOA, this monitoring and inspections regime would go away.
Fourth, Iran is complying with the JCPOA. That was not simply the view of my Administration. The United States intelligence community has continued to find that Iran is meeting its responsibilities under the deal, and has reported as much to Congress. So have our closest allies, and the international agency responsible for verifying Iranian compliance – the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Fifth, the JCPOA does not expire. The prohibition on Iran ever obtaining a nuclear weapon is permanent. Some of the most important and intrusive inspections codified by the JCPOA are permanent. Even as some of the provisions in the JCPOA do become less strict with time, this won’t happen until ten, fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years into the deal, so there is little reason to put those restrictions at risk today.
Finally, the JCPOA was never intended to solve all of our problems with Iran. We were clear-eyed that Iran engages in destabilizing behavior – including support for terrorism, and threats toward Israel and its neighbors. But that’s precisely why it was so important that we prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Every aspect of Iranian behavior that is troubling is far more dangerous if their nuclear program is unconstrained. Our ability to confront Iran’s destabilizing behavior – and to sustain a unity of purpose with our allies – is strengthened with the JCPOA, and weakened without it.
Because of these facts, I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake. Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East. We all know the dangers of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. It could embolden an already dangerous regime; threaten our friends with destruction; pose unacceptable dangers to America’s own security; and trigger an arms race in the world’s most dangerous region. If the constraints on Iran’s nuclear program under the JCPOA are lost, we could be hastening the day when we are faced with the choice between living with that threat, or going to war to prevent it.
In a dangerous world, America must be able to rely in part on strong, principled diplomacy to secure our country. We have been safer in the years since we achieved the JCPOA, thanks in part to the work of our diplomats, many members of Congress, and our allies. Going forward, I hope that Americans continue to speak out in support of the kind of strong, principled, fact-based, and unifying leadership that can best secure our country and uphold our responsibilities around the globe.
[size=34]BREAKING NEWS: Obama rebukes Trump for blowing up Iran deal as he warns the U.S. could face a losing choice - a nuclear-armed Tehran or a new war in the Middle East[/size]
- Barack Obama re-emerged on Tuesday to chide his successor for withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear accord
- Obama said in a long statement that he posted to social media accounts that Donald Trump had made 'a serious mistake'
- Ex-president warned, 'We could be hastening the day when we are faced with the choice between living with that threat, or going to war to prevent it'
- Obama defended the deal his administration formed in unison with Russia, China, Germany, France and the U.K. in 2015
- His secretary of state, John Kerry, also came out swinging against Trump, who'd mocked him repeatedly this month for making a bad deal and crashing his bike
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:10 EDT, 8 May 2018 | UPDATED: 16:43 EDT, 8 May 2018
Former President Barack Obama re-emerged on Tuesday to chide his successor for withdrawing the United States from an international agreement regulating Iran's nuclear activities.
Obama said in a long statement that he posted to social media accounts that Donald Trump had made 'a serious mistake' in reneging on the obligations the U.S. agreed to when it signed on to the accord.
'Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East,' he said.
If the deal falls apart because of Trump's action, Obama warned, 'We could be hastening the day when we are faced with the choice between living with that threat, or going to war to prevent it.'
+2
Former President Barack Obama reemerged on Tuesday to chide his predecessor for withdrawing the United States from an international agreement regulating Iran's nuclear activities
+2
Obama said in a long statement that he posted to social media accounts that Donald Trump had 'a serious mistake' in reneging on the United States' end of the accord
Lecturing the sitting president, Obama explained that his administration knew that the 2015 accord it helped to negotiate would not address every Iranian threat.
'We were clear-eyed that Iran engages in destabilizing behavior – including support for terrorism, and threats toward Israel and its neighbors,' he said. 'But that’s precisely why it was so important that we prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.'
'Every aspect of Iranian behavior that is troubling is far more dangerous if their nuclear program is unconstrained. Our ability to confront Iran’s destabilizing behavior – and to sustain a unity of purpose with our allies – is strengthened with the JCPOA, and weakened without it.'
Obama's secretary of state at the time the U.S. and Europe joined the alliance with China, Russia and Europe - John Kerry - also spoke out against Trump's decision.
'Instead of building on unprecedented nonproliferation verification measures, this decision risks throwing them away and dragging the world back to the brink we faced a few years ago,' Kerry said in a statement. 'The extent of the damage will depend on what Europe can do to hold the nuclear agreement together, and it will depend on Iran's reaction.'
Kerry said that Trump, who he did not reference by name, should not have oursourced those talks to Europe. 'This is not in America's interests,' he added.
Trump had personally assailed Kerry for settling for the deal at hand instead of pushing for something that had more teeth. He mocked the ex-diplomat in a Friday speech for a bike accident he had during talks in 2015 in France.
Since leaving office, Obama has kept a promise to extract himself from the political debate, except in instance when Trump has taken direct aim at policies that defined his presidency.
Obama inserted himself in the conversation on two notable occasions last year: when Congress sought to unravel Obamacare and when Trump announced his decision to rip the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement.
[size=34]BARACK OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL [/size]
There are few issues more important to the security of the United States than the potential spread of nuclear weapons, or the potential for even more destructive war in the Middle East. That’s why the United States negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the first place.
The reality is clear. The JCPOA is working – that is a view shared by our European allies, independent experts, and the current U.S. Secretary of Defense. The JCPOA is in America’s interest – it has significantly rolled back Iran’s nuclear program. And the JCPOA is a model for what diplomacy can accomplish – its inspections and verification regime is precisely what the United States should be working to put in place with North Korea. Indeed, at a time when we are all rooting for diplomacy with North Korea to succeed, walking away from the JCPOA risks losing a deal that accomplishes – with Iran – the very outcome that we are pursuing with the North Koreans.
That is why today’s announcement is so misguided. Walking away from the JCPOA turns our back on America’s closest allies, and an agreement that our country’s leading diplomats, scientists, and intelligence professionals negotiated. In a democracy, there will always be changes in policies and priorities from one Administration to the next. But the consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America’s credibility, and puts us at odds with the world’s major powers.
Debates in our country should be informed by facts, especially debates that have proven to be divisive. So it’s important to review several facts about the JCPOA.
First, the JCPOA was not just an agreement between my Administration and the Iranian government. After years of building an international coalition that could impose crippling sanctions on Iran, we reached the JCPOA together with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the European Union, Russia, China, and Iran. It is a multilateral arms control deal, unanimously endorsed by a United Nations Security Council Resolution.
Second, the JCPOA has worked in rolling back Iran’s nuclear program. For decades, Iran had steadily advanced its nuclear program, approaching the point where they could rapidly produce enough fissile material to build a bomb. The JCPOA put a lid on that breakout capacity. Since the JCPOA was implemented, Iran has destroyed the core of a reactor that could have produced weapons-grade plutonium; removed two-thirds of its centrifuges (over 13,000) and placed them under international monitoring; and eliminated 97 percent of its stockpile of enriched uranium – the raw materials necessary for a bomb. So by any measure, the JCPOA has imposed strict limitations on Iran's nuclear program and achieved real results.
Third, the JCPOA does not rely on trust – it is rooted in the most far-reaching inspections and verification regime ever negotiated in an arms control deal. Iran’s nuclear facilities are strictly monitored. International monitors also have access to Iran’s entire nuclear supply chain, so that we can catch them if they cheat. Without the JCPOA, this monitoring and inspections regime would go away.
Fourth, Iran is complying with the JCPOA. That was not simply the view of my Administration. The United States intelligence community has continued to find that Iran is meeting its responsibilities under the deal, and has reported as much to Congress. So have our closest allies, and the international agency responsible for verifying Iranian compliance – the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Fifth, the JCPOA does not expire. The prohibition on Iran ever obtaining a nuclear weapon is permanent. Some of the most important and intrusive inspections codified by the JCPOA are permanent. Even as some of the provisions in the JCPOA do become less strict with time, this won’t happen until ten, fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years into the deal, so there is little reason to put those restrictions at risk today.
Finally, the JCPOA was never intended to solve all of our problems with Iran. We were clear-eyed that Iran engages in destabilizing behavior – including support for terrorism, and threats toward Israel and its neighbors. But that’s precisely why it was so important that we prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Every aspect of Iranian behavior that is troubling is far more dangerous if their nuclear program is unconstrained. Our ability to confront Iran’s destabilizing behavior – and to sustain a unity of purpose with our allies – is strengthened with the JCPOA, and weakened without it.
Because of these facts, I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake. Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East. We all know the dangers of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. It could embolden an already dangerous regime; threaten our friends with destruction; pose unacceptable dangers to America’s own security; and trigger an arms race in the world’s most dangerous region. If the constraints on Iran’s nuclear program under the JCPOA are lost, we could be hastening the day when we are faced with the choice between living with that threat, or going to war to prevent it.
In a dangerous world, America must be able to rely in part on strong, principled diplomacy to secure our country. We have been safer in the years since we achieved the JCPOA, thanks in part to the work of our diplomats, many members of Congress, and our allies. Going forward, I hope that Americans continue to speak out in support of the kind of strong, principled, fact-based, and unifying leadership that can best secure our country and uphold our responsibilities around the globe.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by Donnamarie Wed 09 May 2018, 00:33
party animal - not! wrote:Mad.
And the need for a publicity build up all day......? Phones Macron ahead of it, blah-blah. Such a isolationist but doesn't seem to know or care about the consequences.
He deserves for Kim Jong Un and Sth Korea and Japan and China to just do deals with each other.........
Yep I can’t imagine what Kim Jong Un thinks about dealmaking with Trump now. Although I have to believe Un saw this coming. I don’t trust this whole U.S./North Korean summit. Un isn’t stupid and I don’t believe he’s going to really give up his nuclear program. Our world, and the U.S. in particular, is in such a mess I just don’t know what to believe and what surprises are just around the corner.
I can’t help myself but to say once again how totally disgusting Trump is as a human being. I’m not convinced that enough Americans are paying attention to how thoroughly corrupt and unhinged he is. It’s worrisome.
Last edited by Donnamarie on Wed 09 May 2018, 00:35; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : Spelling. I blame Trump!)
Donnamarie- Possibly more Clooney than George himself
- Posts : 5881
Join date : 2014-08-26
Location : Washington, DC
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Wed 09 May 2018, 17:25
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5709197/Trump-asks-away-credentials-White-House-TV-reporters.html
[size=34]Trump says he might 'take away credentials' from TV reporters because '91% of the network news about me is negative (Fake)' in latest attack on free press[/size]
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 10:50 EDT, 9 May 2018 | UPDATED: 11:21 EDT, 9 May 2018
President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that he might revoke White House credentials for some journalists, following the publication of a survey that showed a dramatic leftward tilt in television news coverage about him.
The Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group, tracked the evening newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC for the first four months of this year and found more than 1,600 'explicitly positive and negative' statements about the president.
The group determined that nine out of 10 of those broadcast statements were negative. It did not include CNN and MSNBC in its research.
Trump vented, saying: 'The Fake News is working overtime. Just reported that, despite the tremendous success we are having with the economy & all things else, 91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake). Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials?'
+5
President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the reporters who cover him, saying 91 per cent of coverage of him that the three major TV networks air is negative
+5
'Take away credentials?' Trump asked, suggesting a heavy-handed approach to press freedom
+5
The Media Research Center found a massive disparity on ABC, CBS and NBC between positive and negative coverage of key issues since Trump became president
The MRC, which regularly blasts out signs of media bias on its 'Newsbusters' website, reported the '91%' statistic cited by Trump when it analyzed network news coverage in September, October and November.
Internet news distribution pioneer Matt Drudge said he's concerned the president might be headed toward licensing all journalists
Harvard University Kennedy School of Government's Shorenstein Center, no conservative lapdog, released a broader report after Trump's first 100 days in office and found a similar result.
It analyzed all coverage of Trump in the print editions of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post; the main newscasts of CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC; and a trio of European outlets that included The UK’s Financial Times and BBC, and Germany’s ARD.
The result: Fully 80 per cent of non-'neutral' coverage about Trump was negative, and just 20 per cent was positive.
CNN, NBC and CBS – in that order – aired the least positive news about the president, each of them registering in the single-digit percentages.
Trump has long been a critic of the White House press corps' coverage of him, branding some 'fake news' outlets 'the enemy of the American people' and saving his harshest criticism for The New York Times and CNN.
Drudge also pointed out that Democrats in the U.S. Senate had suggested licenses for reporters in the past
+5
'The Fake News is working overtime' to attack him, the president fumed Wednesday
+5
Harvard's Shorenstein Center at the Kennedy School of Government found last year that during Trump's first 100 days in office, negative coverage of him outstripped positive coverage by a 4-to-1 margin
Matt Drudge, the Internet publisher behind the influential Drudge Report website, posted a rare personal tweet on Wednesday morning to warn about what might follow from the White House.
'I fear the future result of Trump’s crusade on "fake news" will be licensing of all reporters,' Drudge wrote, noting that Democrats 'already floated this in the senate pre-Trump.'
'The mop up on this issue is going to be excruciating,' he predicted.
In 2013, California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein proposed amending a media 'shield' law considered by Congress in order to declare that only 'paid' journalists should be protected.
The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment says that the federal government cannot take any action 'abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.'
Feinstein said at the time that she wouldn't 'support it if everyone who has a blog has a special privilege.'
The president has taken his 'fake news' campaign against the political press corps to Twitter several times, including some statements that suggest challenging broadcast licenses and prompting congressional investigations into media bias
Press shield laws preserve the right of journalists to refuse to disclose – even in court – their information sources. There is no federal press shield law, but laws in at least 40 states do cover reporters in that way.
Trump's longstanding habit of sniping at journalists he loves to hate reached a fever pitch last fall when he floated a wide range of remedies for what he sees as a mass media that's stacked against him.
'Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!' he tweeted on October 5.
Hours later the president directly challenged the legitimacy of major broadcasters.
'With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License?' he asked.
Trump was still at is six days later, tweeting that '[n]etwork news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged and, if appropriate, revoked.'
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[size=34]Trump says he might 'take away credentials' from TV reporters because '91% of the network news about me is negative (Fake)' in latest attack on free press[/size]
- President vented on Twitter about reports from the conservative Media Research Center
- Research last fall found 91 per cent of big-three TV networks' evening news coverage about Trump that wasn't neutral was negative in nature
- That number sat at 90 per cent for the quarter ending in April
- Influential online news aggregation pioneer Matt Drudge said licensing of all reporters' could be on the horizon – something Democrats have floated before
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 10:50 EDT, 9 May 2018 | UPDATED: 11:21 EDT, 9 May 2018
President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that he might revoke White House credentials for some journalists, following the publication of a survey that showed a dramatic leftward tilt in television news coverage about him.
The Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group, tracked the evening newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC for the first four months of this year and found more than 1,600 'explicitly positive and negative' statements about the president.
The group determined that nine out of 10 of those broadcast statements were negative. It did not include CNN and MSNBC in its research.
Trump vented, saying: 'The Fake News is working overtime. Just reported that, despite the tremendous success we are having with the economy & all things else, 91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake). Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials?'
+5
President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the reporters who cover him, saying 91 per cent of coverage of him that the three major TV networks air is negative
+5
'Take away credentials?' Trump asked, suggesting a heavy-handed approach to press freedom
+5
The Media Research Center found a massive disparity on ABC, CBS and NBC between positive and negative coverage of key issues since Trump became president
The MRC, which regularly blasts out signs of media bias on its 'Newsbusters' website, reported the '91%' statistic cited by Trump when it analyzed network news coverage in September, October and November.
Internet news distribution pioneer Matt Drudge said he's concerned the president might be headed toward licensing all journalists
Harvard University Kennedy School of Government's Shorenstein Center, no conservative lapdog, released a broader report after Trump's first 100 days in office and found a similar result.
It analyzed all coverage of Trump in the print editions of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post; the main newscasts of CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC; and a trio of European outlets that included The UK’s Financial Times and BBC, and Germany’s ARD.
The result: Fully 80 per cent of non-'neutral' coverage about Trump was negative, and just 20 per cent was positive.
CNN, NBC and CBS – in that order – aired the least positive news about the president, each of them registering in the single-digit percentages.
Trump has long been a critic of the White House press corps' coverage of him, branding some 'fake news' outlets 'the enemy of the American people' and saving his harshest criticism for The New York Times and CNN.
Drudge also pointed out that Democrats in the U.S. Senate had suggested licenses for reporters in the past
+5
'The Fake News is working overtime' to attack him, the president fumed Wednesday
+5
Harvard's Shorenstein Center at the Kennedy School of Government found last year that during Trump's first 100 days in office, negative coverage of him outstripped positive coverage by a 4-to-1 margin
Matt Drudge, the Internet publisher behind the influential Drudge Report website, posted a rare personal tweet on Wednesday morning to warn about what might follow from the White House.
'I fear the future result of Trump’s crusade on "fake news" will be licensing of all reporters,' Drudge wrote, noting that Democrats 'already floated this in the senate pre-Trump.'
'The mop up on this issue is going to be excruciating,' he predicted.
In 2013, California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein proposed amending a media 'shield' law considered by Congress in order to declare that only 'paid' journalists should be protected.
The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment says that the federal government cannot take any action 'abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.'
Feinstein said at the time that she wouldn't 'support it if everyone who has a blog has a special privilege.'
The president has taken his 'fake news' campaign against the political press corps to Twitter several times, including some statements that suggest challenging broadcast licenses and prompting congressional investigations into media bias
Press shield laws preserve the right of journalists to refuse to disclose – even in court – their information sources. There is no federal press shield law, but laws in at least 40 states do cover reporters in that way.
Trump's longstanding habit of sniping at journalists he loves to hate reached a fever pitch last fall when he floated a wide range of remedies for what he sees as a mass media that's stacked against him.
'Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!' he tweeted on October 5.
Hours later the president directly challenged the legitimacy of major broadcasters.
'With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License?' he asked.
Trump was still at is six days later, tweeting that '[n]etwork news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged and, if appropriate, revoked.'
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annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Wed 09 May 2018, 17:28
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5709401/Woman-accused-Trump-forcibly-kissing-2006-wins-Democratic-statehouse-primary-Ohio.html
[size=34]Woman who accused Trump of forcibly kissing her in 2006 wins Democratic primary for seat in Ohio legislature
[/size]
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:44 EDT, 9 May 2018 | UPDATED: 10:03 EDT, 9 May 2018
A woman who during the 2016 presidential election accused then-candidate Donald Trump of sexually harassing her more than a decade earlier won a Democratic primary Tuesday night for a seat in Ohio's state legislature.
Democrat Rachel Crooks of Tiffin, a town near Toledo, ran unopposed and faces a tough challenge in November against Republican state Rep. Bill Reineke.
The battle between the 35-year-old university administrator and the 63-year-old politician will decide Ohio's 88th House District.
Crooks says she's running for the seat in part because Trump has escaped consequences for the harassment alleged by her and other women.
She claims she was a 22-year-old receptionist at Trump Tower in 2005 when he kissed her 'directly on the mouth' against her will.
+11
Rachel Crooks, 35, ran unopposed in an Ohio Democratic primary Tuesday and will face a Republican incumbent in November for a seat in the state legislature; she has accused President Donald Trump of kissing her forcefully without consent in 2006
+11
Crooks, pictured with feminist attorney Gloria Allred, spoke during an 'Accusers of President Donald Trump' press conference at the 2017 Women's March in Washington
+11
President Trump has denied Crooks' allegations and said to the best of his knowledge he had 'never met' her
+11
In February the president enlarged Crooks' claims by denying them forcefully, saying it 'never happened!'
Trump denied the accusations when they surfaced a month before the 2016 election. The White House disputed Crooks' claims in December.
Crooks said in February that the president 'should be afraid' of her because she's telling the truth.
+11
Crooks posted a photo Tuesday on Facebook after she voted in Ohio
Her profile skyrocketed after Trump lashed out at her on Twitter.
'His whole approach to this has been to deny the allegation of myself and ... almost 20 women who have come forward. So it's not surprising,' Crooks told CNN at the time.
'But I would think as our president he would have more important things to do than tweet at me and try to discredit my story. I know what's true, he knows what's true and I think he should be afraid of that.'
Trump swatted away Crooks' accusation in a pair of tweets, claiming that a Washington Post story about her claim was 'Fake News.'
'A woman I don’t know and, to the best of my knowledge, never met, is on the FRONT PAGE of the Fake News Washington Post saying I kissed her (for two minutes yet) in the lobby of Trump Tower 12 years ago. Never happened!' he wrote on Twitter.
'Who would do this in a public space with live security cameras running. Another False Accusation.'
[size=35]30 shares[/size]
+11
Crooks first claimed a few weeks before the 2016 election that Donald Trump once forcibly kissed her in an elevator lobby at Trump Tower
+11
Crooks tweeted back at Trump, pinpointing the location of her claim and challenging him to release security footage; she also used the profile-enhancing tweet as a fundraising opportunity
+11
Trump insisted in February that the woman's story of unwanted kissing in 2006 is 'fake news'
+11
'It absolutely happened,' Crooks insisted on 'CBS This Morning'
Crooks then swept aside Trump's official shoulder-shrug, telling CBS that she is 'not surprised that he would deny the allegations, because that seems to be his common response.'
'But my response is it absolutely happened,' Crooks insisted.
'President Trump is the one that seems to be immune to all of this for whatever reason,' she added. 'Apparently, we don't want to hold the president accountable. But I think if anyone should be held accountable it should be him.'
Crooks recalled the alleged kiss in a group conversation witnessed by a Post reporter.
'It happened right by the elevators,' she said, talking about an encounter at Trump Tower at age 22, where she was working as a receptionist at Bayrock Group, a company Trump sometimes did business with.
'He started kissing me on one cheek, then the other cheek. He was talking to me in between kisses, asking where I was from, or if I wanted to be a model. He wouldn’t let go of my hand, and then he went right in and started kissing me on the lips.'
'It felt like a long kiss,' Crooks told the gathering, a confab of women intended to drum up support for her political campaign.
'The whole thing probably lasted two minutes, maybe less.'
Crooks first made her claim to The New York Times about four weeks before the 2016 election.
'It was so inappropriate,' Crooks recalled at the time. 'I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that.'
Crooks has said the incident happened in the elevator lobby near the Bayrock offices, in the early morning. It's a relatively secluded spot.
Trump's tweet placed her accusation in the 'lobby of Trump Tower,' a far more public location.
Crooks has asked Trump in the past to find and release security-camera video from that day. His company has never responded to those requests.
Hours after Trump's tweets, she responded with her own.
'Please, by all means, share the footage from the hallway outside the 24th floor residential elevator bank on the morning of January 11, 2006,' she challenged the president. 'Let’s clear this up for everyone. It’s liars like you in politics that have prompted me to run for office myself.'
+11
+11
Trump fumed on Tuesday about what he claims is a lack of media attention to the saga of Jill Harth (left), one of his accusers, who reportedly got a payoff arranged by feminist lawyer Lisa Bloom (right) in exchange for telling her story
The tweet included a link to her campaign fundraising Web page.
Trump also complained on Tuesday that the Fox News Channel has been the only major cable network to cover the story one accuser who was reportedly offered a payoff from lawyer Lisa Bloom to tell her story publicly.
That woman is reportedly Jill Harth. Neither she nor Bloom has denied a financial transaction took place.
'Why doesn’t @washingtonpost report the story of the women taking money to make up stories about me? One had her home mortgage paid off,' Trump tweeted.
'Only @FoxNews so reported...doesn’t fit the Mainstream Media narrative.'
A total of 19 women have claimed publicly that Trump subjected them in the past to sexual misconduct of some kind, running the gamut from harassment to assault.
His presidential campaign was roiled in its final days when the Post published audio from a 2005 taping of 'Access Hollywood,' in which the future president told host Billy Bush that he was 'automatically attracted to beautiful women. I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait.
'And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.'
Crooks' accusations date to the year after Trump made those comments.
[size=34]Woman who accused Trump of forcibly kissing her in 2006 wins Democratic primary for seat in Ohio legislature
[/size]
- Rachel Crooks, a Trump sexual harassment accuser, will be the Democrats' candidate in November for a state legislative seat in Ohio
- Crooks ran unopposed and will face a Republican incumbent this fall
- Crooks resurrected her claim this year that the president kissed her on the mouth without consent in a Trump Tower elevator lobby in 2006
- Her accusation first came in 2016, just weeks before the presidential election
- Trump forcefully denied her account, tweeting that he had never met her and it 'never happened'
By DAVID MARTOSKO, US POLITICAL EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:44 EDT, 9 May 2018 | UPDATED: 10:03 EDT, 9 May 2018
A woman who during the 2016 presidential election accused then-candidate Donald Trump of sexually harassing her more than a decade earlier won a Democratic primary Tuesday night for a seat in Ohio's state legislature.
Democrat Rachel Crooks of Tiffin, a town near Toledo, ran unopposed and faces a tough challenge in November against Republican state Rep. Bill Reineke.
The battle between the 35-year-old university administrator and the 63-year-old politician will decide Ohio's 88th House District.
Crooks says she's running for the seat in part because Trump has escaped consequences for the harassment alleged by her and other women.
She claims she was a 22-year-old receptionist at Trump Tower in 2005 when he kissed her 'directly on the mouth' against her will.
+11
Rachel Crooks, 35, ran unopposed in an Ohio Democratic primary Tuesday and will face a Republican incumbent in November for a seat in the state legislature; she has accused President Donald Trump of kissing her forcefully without consent in 2006
+11
Crooks, pictured with feminist attorney Gloria Allred, spoke during an 'Accusers of President Donald Trump' press conference at the 2017 Women's March in Washington
+11
President Trump has denied Crooks' allegations and said to the best of his knowledge he had 'never met' her
+11
In February the president enlarged Crooks' claims by denying them forcefully, saying it 'never happened!'
Trump denied the accusations when they surfaced a month before the 2016 election. The White House disputed Crooks' claims in December.
Crooks said in February that the president 'should be afraid' of her because she's telling the truth.
+11
Crooks posted a photo Tuesday on Facebook after she voted in Ohio
Her profile skyrocketed after Trump lashed out at her on Twitter.
'His whole approach to this has been to deny the allegation of myself and ... almost 20 women who have come forward. So it's not surprising,' Crooks told CNN at the time.
'But I would think as our president he would have more important things to do than tweet at me and try to discredit my story. I know what's true, he knows what's true and I think he should be afraid of that.'
Trump swatted away Crooks' accusation in a pair of tweets, claiming that a Washington Post story about her claim was 'Fake News.'
'A woman I don’t know and, to the best of my knowledge, never met, is on the FRONT PAGE of the Fake News Washington Post saying I kissed her (for two minutes yet) in the lobby of Trump Tower 12 years ago. Never happened!' he wrote on Twitter.
'Who would do this in a public space with live security cameras running. Another False Accusation.'
[size=35]30 shares[/size]
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Crooks first claimed a few weeks before the 2016 election that Donald Trump once forcibly kissed her in an elevator lobby at Trump Tower
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Crooks tweeted back at Trump, pinpointing the location of her claim and challenging him to release security footage; she also used the profile-enhancing tweet as a fundraising opportunity
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Trump insisted in February that the woman's story of unwanted kissing in 2006 is 'fake news'
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'It absolutely happened,' Crooks insisted on 'CBS This Morning'
Crooks then swept aside Trump's official shoulder-shrug, telling CBS that she is 'not surprised that he would deny the allegations, because that seems to be his common response.'
'But my response is it absolutely happened,' Crooks insisted.
'President Trump is the one that seems to be immune to all of this for whatever reason,' she added. 'Apparently, we don't want to hold the president accountable. But I think if anyone should be held accountable it should be him.'
Crooks recalled the alleged kiss in a group conversation witnessed by a Post reporter.
'It happened right by the elevators,' she said, talking about an encounter at Trump Tower at age 22, where she was working as a receptionist at Bayrock Group, a company Trump sometimes did business with.
'He started kissing me on one cheek, then the other cheek. He was talking to me in between kisses, asking where I was from, or if I wanted to be a model. He wouldn’t let go of my hand, and then he went right in and started kissing me on the lips.'
'It felt like a long kiss,' Crooks told the gathering, a confab of women intended to drum up support for her political campaign.
'The whole thing probably lasted two minutes, maybe less.'
Crooks first made her claim to The New York Times about four weeks before the 2016 election.
'It was so inappropriate,' Crooks recalled at the time. 'I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that.'
Crooks has said the incident happened in the elevator lobby near the Bayrock offices, in the early morning. It's a relatively secluded spot.
Trump's tweet placed her accusation in the 'lobby of Trump Tower,' a far more public location.
Crooks has asked Trump in the past to find and release security-camera video from that day. His company has never responded to those requests.
Hours after Trump's tweets, she responded with her own.
'Please, by all means, share the footage from the hallway outside the 24th floor residential elevator bank on the morning of January 11, 2006,' she challenged the president. 'Let’s clear this up for everyone. It’s liars like you in politics that have prompted me to run for office myself.'
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Trump fumed on Tuesday about what he claims is a lack of media attention to the saga of Jill Harth (left), one of his accusers, who reportedly got a payoff arranged by feminist lawyer Lisa Bloom (right) in exchange for telling her story
The tweet included a link to her campaign fundraising Web page.
Trump also complained on Tuesday that the Fox News Channel has been the only major cable network to cover the story one accuser who was reportedly offered a payoff from lawyer Lisa Bloom to tell her story publicly.
That woman is reportedly Jill Harth. Neither she nor Bloom has denied a financial transaction took place.
'Why doesn’t @washingtonpost report the story of the women taking money to make up stories about me? One had her home mortgage paid off,' Trump tweeted.
'Only @FoxNews so reported...doesn’t fit the Mainstream Media narrative.'
A total of 19 women have claimed publicly that Trump subjected them in the past to sexual misconduct of some kind, running the gamut from harassment to assault.
His presidential campaign was roiled in its final days when the Post published audio from a 2005 taping of 'Access Hollywood,' in which the future president told host Billy Bush that he was 'automatically attracted to beautiful women. I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait.
'And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.'
Crooks' accusations date to the year after Trump made those comments.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Wed 09 May 2018, 17:33
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5706985/Feds-White-man-wanted-hit-man-kill-black-neighbor.html
[size=34]White South Carolina man 'paid hitman $500 to kill his black neighbor hang his body from a tree and burn a cross on his lawn'[/size]
By NIC WHITE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 19:29 EDT, 8 May 2018 | UPDATED: 06:22 EDT, 9 May 2018
A white supremacist tried to hit a hitman to lynch his black neighbor and put up a burning cross in his front yard, prosecutors allege.
Brandon Cory Lecroy allegedly offered an undercover FBI agent $500 to kill the neighbor in the small town of Hodges 85 miles west of Columbia, South Carolina.
The 32-year-old told the agent '$500 and he's a ghost' and handed over a $100 down payment along with photos of the target, according to court papers.
Lecroy wanted the man killed and his body hung from a tree, with a KKK-style burning cross erected on his front lawn.
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White supremacist Brandon Cory Lecroy, 32, tried to hit a hitman to lynch his black neighbor and put up a burning cross in his front yard, prosecutors allege
He also mentioned he might want to have more people killed later if the hitman could get the first job done, an affidavit said.
Later he also asked if the undercover agent could get him a 9mm 'ghost gun' that would be untraceable.
Lecroy found the 'hitman' through a white supremacist group, the FBI said.
He was charged with murder for hire and solicitation to commit a crime of violence and faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
He will have a mental exam before further criminal proceedings begin.
[size=34]White South Carolina man 'paid hitman $500 to kill his black neighbor hang his body from a tree and burn a cross on his lawn'[/size]
- Brandon Cory Lecroy, 32, allegedly offered undercover FBI agent $500
- White supremacist wanted body hung from a tree and a burning cross in his yard
- Also asked for an 'untraceable' 9mm pistol and said he might have other targets
- He was arrested and charged with soliciting violence and murder for hire
By NIC WHITE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 19:29 EDT, 8 May 2018 | UPDATED: 06:22 EDT, 9 May 2018
A white supremacist tried to hit a hitman to lynch his black neighbor and put up a burning cross in his front yard, prosecutors allege.
Brandon Cory Lecroy allegedly offered an undercover FBI agent $500 to kill the neighbor in the small town of Hodges 85 miles west of Columbia, South Carolina.
The 32-year-old told the agent '$500 and he's a ghost' and handed over a $100 down payment along with photos of the target, according to court papers.
Lecroy wanted the man killed and his body hung from a tree, with a KKK-style burning cross erected on his front lawn.
+1
White supremacist Brandon Cory Lecroy, 32, tried to hit a hitman to lynch his black neighbor and put up a burning cross in his front yard, prosecutors allege
He also mentioned he might want to have more people killed later if the hitman could get the first job done, an affidavit said.
Later he also asked if the undercover agent could get him a 9mm 'ghost gun' that would be untraceable.
Lecroy found the 'hitman' through a white supremacist group, the FBI said.
He was charged with murder for hire and solicitation to commit a crime of violence and faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
He will have a mental exam before further criminal proceedings begin.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Thu 10 May 2018, 02:01
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5710687/Saudis-seek-nuclear-weapon-Iran-does-minister.html
[size=34]Saudi Arabia will 'do everything we can' to obtain nuclear weapons if Iran acquires the capability, country's foreign minister warns[/size]
By AFP
PUBLISHED: 14:35 EDT, 9 May 2018 | UPDATED: 16:49 EDT, 9 May 2018
Saudi Arabia will seek to develop its own nuclear weapons if Iran does, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN on Wednesday, amid spiraling tension between the regional rivals.
Asked whether Riyadh would 'build a bomb itself' if Tehran seizes on Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 Iran deal to resume a nuclear weapons program, Jubeir said: 'If Iran acquires nuclear capability we will do everything we can to do the same.'
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has long said it would match any Iranian weapons development, but Jubeir's renewed vow came after US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of an accord designed to prevent Tehran's alleged quest for the bomb.
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Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, seen here at an Arab League meeting in Cairo in November 2017, said Iran would 'do everything' to match any Iranian bid to acquire a nuclear weapon
And it came amid growing tension between the Sunni kingdom and the Shiite Islamic republic over Iran's support for the Huthi rebels in Yemen, who have been firing rockets across the border.
Riyadh, which leads a regional coalition that intervened in Yemen's civil war to fight the Huthis, accuses Iran of supplying the militia with ballistic missiles.
'These missiles are Iranian manufactured and delivered to the Huthis,' Jubeir told CNN.
Such behavior is unacceptable. It violates UN Resolutions with regards to ballistic missiles. And the Iranians must be held accountable for this.
'We will find the right way and at the right time to respond to this,' he warned.
'We are trying to avoid at all costs direct military action with Iran, but Iran's behavior such as this cannot continue. This amounts to a declaration of war.'
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Donald Trump said he was ready to work on a new nuclear accord, one that would also curb Iran's missile programme
A other looming debacle is whether the US pullout from the Iran deal could trigger a nuclear arms race.
Trump said his decision to leave the JCPOA was designed to counter that possibility.
'If I allowed this deal to stand, there would soon be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East,' he said.
But minutes after he spoke, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran could resume uranium enrichment 'without limit' if its interests are not assured by the remaining signatories.
'Whether or not (the Iranians) go for a military programme, you're going to get a nuclear race in the Middle East,' said Dorsey.
In March, Saudi Arabia's crown prince said if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, the kingdom would be compelled to follow suit.
Trump said Tuesday that he was ready to work on a new nuclear accord, one that would also curb Iran's missile programme.
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Iranian demonstrators burn a picture of the U.S. President Donald Trump during a protest in response to his decision to pull out of the nuclear deal
Saudi Arabia's air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles over Riyadh on Wednesday, state media said, the latest in a series of attacks claimed by Iran-allied rebels in neighbouring Yemen.
Riyadh has long accused its regional archfoe Tehran of supplying Yemen's rebels with ballistic missiles, a charge Tehran denies.
Middle East analyst James Dorsey, a senior fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, believes Iran will not compromise on its ballistic missile programme 'because that is the core of their defence policy'.
For Saudi Arabia, that is 'fine' because it means the return of sanctions and ratcheting up pressure on Iran in the region, including by Israel.
'It's about Iran,' said Dorsey, 'not about finding a solution.'
[size=34]Saudi Arabia will 'do everything we can' to obtain nuclear weapons if Iran acquires the capability, country's foreign minister warns[/size]
- Saudi Foreign Minister said his state will try to obtain nuclear bomb if Iran does
- Adel al-Jubeir said they will 'do everything we can' to match Iran's capabilities
- Saudi Arabia has long said it would match any Iranian weapons development
By AFP
PUBLISHED: 14:35 EDT, 9 May 2018 | UPDATED: 16:49 EDT, 9 May 2018
Saudi Arabia will seek to develop its own nuclear weapons if Iran does, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN on Wednesday, amid spiraling tension between the regional rivals.
Asked whether Riyadh would 'build a bomb itself' if Tehran seizes on Washington's withdrawal from the 2015 Iran deal to resume a nuclear weapons program, Jubeir said: 'If Iran acquires nuclear capability we will do everything we can to do the same.'
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has long said it would match any Iranian weapons development, but Jubeir's renewed vow came after US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of an accord designed to prevent Tehran's alleged quest for the bomb.
Scroll down for video
+3
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, seen here at an Arab League meeting in Cairo in November 2017, said Iran would 'do everything' to match any Iranian bid to acquire a nuclear weapon
And it came amid growing tension between the Sunni kingdom and the Shiite Islamic republic over Iran's support for the Huthi rebels in Yemen, who have been firing rockets across the border.
Riyadh, which leads a regional coalition that intervened in Yemen's civil war to fight the Huthis, accuses Iran of supplying the militia with ballistic missiles.
'These missiles are Iranian manufactured and delivered to the Huthis,' Jubeir told CNN.
Such behavior is unacceptable. It violates UN Resolutions with regards to ballistic missiles. And the Iranians must be held accountable for this.
'We will find the right way and at the right time to respond to this,' he warned.
'We are trying to avoid at all costs direct military action with Iran, but Iran's behavior such as this cannot continue. This amounts to a declaration of war.'
+3
Donald Trump said he was ready to work on a new nuclear accord, one that would also curb Iran's missile programme
A other looming debacle is whether the US pullout from the Iran deal could trigger a nuclear arms race.
Trump said his decision to leave the JCPOA was designed to counter that possibility.
'If I allowed this deal to stand, there would soon be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East,' he said.
But minutes after he spoke, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran could resume uranium enrichment 'without limit' if its interests are not assured by the remaining signatories.
'Whether or not (the Iranians) go for a military programme, you're going to get a nuclear race in the Middle East,' said Dorsey.
In March, Saudi Arabia's crown prince said if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, the kingdom would be compelled to follow suit.
Trump said Tuesday that he was ready to work on a new nuclear accord, one that would also curb Iran's missile programme.
+3
Iranian demonstrators burn a picture of the U.S. President Donald Trump during a protest in response to his decision to pull out of the nuclear deal
Saudi Arabia's air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles over Riyadh on Wednesday, state media said, the latest in a series of attacks claimed by Iran-allied rebels in neighbouring Yemen.
Riyadh has long accused its regional archfoe Tehran of supplying Yemen's rebels with ballistic missiles, a charge Tehran denies.
Middle East analyst James Dorsey, a senior fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, believes Iran will not compromise on its ballistic missile programme 'because that is the core of their defence policy'.
For Saudi Arabia, that is 'fine' because it means the return of sanctions and ratcheting up pressure on Iran in the region, including by Israel.
'It's about Iran,' said Dorsey, 'not about finding a solution.'
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Fri 11 May 2018, 11:00
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5716297/America-respected-Trump-pats-freeing-North-Korean-hostages.html
[size=38]Trump boasts 'America is respected again' as he lauds North Korea hostage release and the end of the 'disastrous' Iran deal, as Pence praises him for 'embracing his role as leader of the free world'[/size]
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN ELKHART, INDIANA
PUBLISHED: 20:53 EDT, 10 May 2018 | UPDATED: 05:42 EDT, 11 May 2018
Donald Trump said Thursday that America is respected around the globe again as a result of his leadership as he celebrated the release of three detainees from North Korea at a rally in Indiana.
Trump said his approach to dealing with North Korea is 'leading to some very big things'.
The U.S. president continued: 'And I think that Kim Jong-un did a great service to himself, to his country, by doing this.
'I'll be meeting with Kim Jong Un to secure a future of peace and prosperity for the world and the relationship is good.'
He added: 'America is being respected again.'
Riding high from the prisoner release, Trump mocked former President Barack Obama for what amounted to a ransom payment to Iran during his administration to ensure the safe return of five detainees from Tehran.
'Obama, President Obama, paid $1.8billion for hostages,' Trump said of a settlement that Obama's government paid out only if the prisoners were released. 'We didn't pay for them!' the sitting president said of his own administration.
Scroll down for video
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Donald Trump said Thursday that America is respected around the globe again as a result of his leadership as he celebrated the release of three detainees from North Korea at a rally in Indiana
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'President Obama, paid $1.8billion for hostages,' Trump said of a settlement that Obama's government paid out. 'We didn't pay for them!' the sitting president said of his own administration
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Trump was greeted to the crowd of 7,500 supporters in Elkhart, Indiana, with chants of 'U S A'
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Trump also talked up the economy, telling a rowdy audience 'we making America proud. We are rockin'
Trump told his supporters that it had been suggested to him that he cancel the campaign event after a 4:30 am return to the White House from Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland.
'And I said, "You just don't know the people of Indiana. I don't have the courage," 'Trump joked.
The President and Vice President were in Elkhart to congratulate Mike Braun, the businessman and former state representative who won Tuesday's GOP Senate primary for Indiana.
Vice President Mike Pence joined Trump at the airport early Thursday morning and also flew with him to Indiana the very same evening. The former governor of the state, Pence was also in high spirits as he made a rare appearance on his home turf.
What the world saw this week is an American president who embraces his role as leader of the free world
Mike Pence on Donald Trump
'It was humbling for me to be there,' the VP said of his Thursday morning excursion to Andrews. 'And it never would have happened without the strong, clear, resolute leadership of President Donald Trump.'
Pence told the crowd, 'What the world saw this week is an American president who embraces his role as leader of the free world.'
He specifically lauded Trump for withdrawing the U.S. 'disastrous' Iran nuclear deal.
'He is a man of his word. He is a man of action. And how about all the action this week,' the Indiana native said to cheers. 'This president took action on Iran. We saw progress on North Korea, and the new American embassy will open in Jerusalem.'
The president and vice president and their spouses were up at the crack of dawn to welcome the three Americans imprisoned in North Korea back to the U.S.
Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim received a hero's welcome, with Donald and Melania Trump clapping and cheering as the men walked down the steps with their arms in the air and giving triumphant 'V' signs, signifying both peace and victory.
Then Trump said the words most observers thought no American president would ever utter: 'We want to thank Kim Jong-un.'
'These are great people. Frankly, we didn't think this was going to happen, but it did. It was important to get these people out. This is a special night for these three really great people,' Trump said in Maryland.
At his Indiana event, Trump said he made sure the detainees were 'welcomed home the proper way' that morning.
'You know what gets you into nuclear wars, and you know what gets you into other wars? Weakness,' Trump said, before switching back to Kim. 'So the relationship is good, and hopefully, I mean for all of us in the world, and hopefully something very good is going to happen. And they understand it's very important to them. It's important to everybody.'
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Vice President Mike Pence joined Trump at the airport early Thursday morning and also flew with him to Indiana the very same evening. The former governor of the state, Pence was also in high spirits. They are seen together on stage at the rally
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Trump also warned of the potential consequences of Democratic wins in the midterms in November that threaten to derail his agenda in Congress
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Trump also warned of the potential consequences of Democratic wins in the midterms in November that threaten to derail his agenda in Congress. He branded Joe Donnelly a 'swamp person'
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Pence told the crowd: 'He is a man of his word. He is a man of action. And how about all the action this week.' He's pictured above on stage with his wife Karen
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The President and Vice President were in Elkhart, Indiana, to congratulate Mike Braun (pictured), the businessman and former state representative who won Tuesday's GOP Senate primary there
Trump thanked Kim for freeing 'the folks early' in Maryland earlier in the day, saying it was 'sort of understood' they'd be released during his planned summit with the 33-year-old despot.
The president said it's his sense that Kim 'really wants to do something' and bring the hermit kingdom 'into the real world.'
He stated: 'We're starting off on a new footing. I really think we have a very good chance of doing something very meaningful, and if anybody would've said that five years ago, 10 years ago, even a year ago, you would've said, "That's not possible." '
Later on Thursday Trump announced that his first-ever in person meeting with Kim would take place in Singapore on June 12.
'I think it's going to be a very big success,' he said of the planned face-to-face with Kim during the rally in Indiana. 'But my attitude is, and if it isn't, it isn't, OK? If it isn't, it isn't. But - and you have to have that, because you don't know - we're not going to be walking into an Iran deal, where the negotiator John Kerry refused to leave the table.'
Trump also said this week that he was pulling the U.S. out the nuclear deal the Obama administration negotiated with Tehran in 2015. He referred to the Iran deal as 'disastrous' in his speech, saying that it would ultimately have allowed the Middle Eastern country to obtain a nuclear weapon.
'I hope to be able to make a deal with them, a good deal, a fair deal,' Trump said. 'But we cannot allow them to have nuclear weapons. We must be able to go to a site and check that site. We have to be able to go into their military bases to see whether or not they’re cheating.'
The president said he believes a new agreement is possible because his administration is 'putting the harshest, strongest, most stringent sanctions on Iran' now that he's ditched the previous accord.
Trump told his supporters that it had been suggested to him that the cancel the campaign event after a 4.30am return to the White House from Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland. 'And I said, 'You just don't know the people of Indiana. I don't have the courage,' 'Trump joked
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The president and vice president and their spouses were up at the crack of dawn to welcome the three Americans imprisoned in North Korea back to the U.S. Crowds at the Indiana rally later in the day are seen above, with Trump on stage
At the campaign event Trump also set his sights on Indiana Democrat Joe Donnelly, who's up for reelection in November.
'Now if Joe Donnelly, Sleepin' Joe, and the Democrats get back into power, remember what I said, they will raise your taxes,' he claimed. 'They will destroy your jobs, and they are going to knock the hell out of your borders.'
The president said that Donnelly would 'do whatever Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi tell him to do' and 'say one thing' to constituents while fully intending to vote with the Democrats' 'radical, liberal agenda' in Washington.
He pushed his new 'Keep America Great' slogan at the event sponsored by his 2020 campaign, noting that two years from now it wouldn't make sense for him to say he wants to 'Make America Great Again' having already held high office.
Trump said that he paid nothing for his new slogan, while lots of politicians pay millions for a tagline. He used the line to launch his attack on Obama over the money the U.S. unfroze of Iran's just before Tehran released five detainees.
Giving himself a pat on the back for getting the the Americans who'd been held captive home from North Korea safely, Trump said: 'They came out for nothing. And the others came out for 1.8 billion in cash, can you believe it?'
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Trump's political advisers see the rally as a way to project party unity following a bruising primary
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Pence said, 'What the world saw this week is an American president who embraces his role as leader of the free world'
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He says he doesn't think 'we've ever done better as a country.' He says, 'We making America proud. We are rockin'
Trump cast the prisoner release as unrelated to the summit with Kim on Thursday, even though the date and location were announced only after the three men were on the U.S. mainland.
'This is what people have been waiting for for a long time. Nobody thought we could be on this track in terms of speed,' Trump said of nuclear summit with Kim while in Maryland.
The White House had few additional details on the meeting to offer on Thursday evening. Aside from the announced date, the president's deputy spokesman said he could not comment on how long the talks would last or whether Trump would have one-on-one time with Kim.
Singapore was chosen, White House spokesman Raj Shah said, because the country can be trusted to 'ensure both the president’s security and Kim Jong Un’s security as well as provide neutrality.'
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At his Indiana event, Trump said he made sure the detainees were 'welcomed home the proper way' that morning. Trump is pictured arriving at the Indiana rally
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At his Indiana event, Trump said he made sure the detainees were 'welcomed home the proper way' that morning. Trump walks toward members of the media after greeting the three American citizens Kim Hak-Song, Kim Dong-Chul, and Kim Sang-Duk, who were detained in North Korea
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Trump and the first lady boarded a plane to welcome the men home after they were freed by North Korea and arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland
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Kim Dong-chul, speaking about his time in North Korea, said: 'We were treated in many different ways. For me, I had to do a lot of labor. But when I got sick, I was also treated by them'
Trump confirmed early Wednesday that the American prisoners would be coming back to the U.S. with Seceretary of State Pompeo. The president said he'd be waiting for them when they landed at Andrews.
'This is a great honor. Hopefully everything is going to work out at the highest level. We want to thank Kim Jong-un, who really was excellent to these three incredible people,' Trump said from the tarmac. 'They are really three incredible people. And the fact that we were able to get them out so soon was really a tribute to a lot of things, including a certain process that’s taking place right now. And that process is very important.'
One of the freed Americans said through a translator who relayed his sentiment that being home felt 'like a dream' and that the men were 'very, very happy' to be freed. They later gave President Trump a round of applause.
Kim Dong-chul, speaking about his time in North Korea through the translator, said: 'We were treated in many different ways. For me, I had to do a lot of labor. But when I got sick, I was also treated by them.'
Trump's claim that Kim 'was excellent to these three incredible people,' was in contrast to Vice President Mike Pence's suggestion in an ABC interview they had endured harsh conditions.
Pence said Pompeo told him that at a refueling stop in Anchorage, 'one of the detainees asked to go outside the plane because he hadn't seen daylight in a very long time.'
Shah said the White House was not under any 'illusions' about the prisoners' time doing hard labor, as he took questions on Air Force One.
'The whole nation should be pleased with the release of these three Americans. I don’t think anybody’s under any illusions about what life was like in a North Korean prison camp,' he said. 'But nonetheless, the president, the vice president, the entire U.S. government, Secretary Pompeo and everybody else, is pleased to see the release of these three American citizens.'
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Donald Trump and Melania welcomed three Americans imprisoned in North Korea back to America to cheers and applause
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, warmly embraced former North Korean detainee Tony Kim upon tthe plane's 2:00 a.m. arrival at a Maryland air base
[size=16]Kim Dong Chul
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Kim Dong Chul is pictured in tears while he was held by North Korea in 2016
A naturalized U.S. citizen born in South Korea, Kim Dong Chul was seized in North Korea on October 2, 2015 and accused of spying.
Though a resident of Virginia – he became an American citizen in 1987 – Kim had lived with his wife in Yanji, China since 2001.
He worked just across the North Korean border in the Rason-Sonbong special economic zone, where he ran a hotel services company. He was also a pastor.
Very little was known about his status until a CNN news crew interviewed him during their visit to Pyongyang in January 2016.
He told reporters during a news conference organized by the dictatorship two months later that he was a spy, explaining that he 'apologized for trying to steal military secrets in collusion with South Koreans' and called his own actions 'unpardonable.'
The North accused him of receiving a USB drive and various papers containing nuclear secrets during a meeting with a defector from the regime.
After a one-day trial in April, he was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for his supposed espionage.
But previous victims of the regime have explained that they were forced to make similar public declarations of their guilt after being tortured, despite being innocent.
Kim Hak-song
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Kim, who is in his mid 50s, was born in Jilin, China, and educated at a university in California
Kim Hak-song, also known as Jin Xue Song, had been working for the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), undertaking agricultural development work with the school's farm.
He was arrested at a Pyongyang railway station in May 2017 on suspicion of committing 'hostile acts' against the government, as he was boarding a train headed for his home in Dandong, China.
Kim, who is in his mid 50s, was born in Jilin, China, and educated at a university in California, CNN reported, citing a man who had studied with him.
He said Kim returned to China after about 10 years of living in the U.S., where he is a citizen.
PUST was founded by evangelical Christians overseas and opened in 2010, and is known to have a number of American faculty members.
Pupils are generally children from among the North's elite.
It is not known whether Kim was sentenced for his supposed 'hostile acts.'
Kim Sang-duk
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Kim is a former professor at Yanbian University of Science and Technology in China, close to the Korean border
Korean-American Kim Sang-duk – known as Tony Kim – was arrested in April 2017 at Pyongyang's main airport as he tried to leave the country after teaching for several weeks as a guest lecturer, also at PUST.
Kim is a former professor at Yanbian University of Science and Technology in China, close to the Korean border.
Its website lists his speciality as accounting.
He graduated from the University of California Riverside in 1990 with a master's degree in business administration.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency has reported Kim as being in his late 50s and said he had been involved in relief activities for children in rural parts of North Korea.
It cited a source who described him as a 'religiously devoted man.'
He was detained with his wife at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang on April 22, 2017 while waiting for a flight.
Police later arrested Kim but did not explain why. His wife was allowed to leave the country.
PUST said the arrest was not related to his work at the university.
In a Facebook post, Kim's son had said that his family has had no contact with him since his arrest.
Kim will soon become a grandfather. [/size]
[size=38]Trump boasts 'America is respected again' as he lauds North Korea hostage release and the end of the 'disastrous' Iran deal, as Pence praises him for 'embracing his role as leader of the free world'[/size]
- Speaking at a rally in Indiana Thursday, Donald Trump said Thursday that America is respected around the globe again as a result of his leadership
- 'President Obama, paid $1.8billion for hostages. We didn't pay for them!' the sitting president said of his own administration off the back of the release of three Americans imprisoned in North Korea arriving home
- Trump also talked up the economy, telling a rowdy audience 'we making America proud. We are rockin'
- Vice President Mike Pence was also at the rally and told the crowd: 'What the world saw this week is an American president who embraces his role as leader of the free world'
- The President and Vice President were in Elkhart, Indiana, to congratulate Mike Braun, the businessman and former state representative who won Tuesday's GOP Senate primary there
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN ELKHART, INDIANA
PUBLISHED: 20:53 EDT, 10 May 2018 | UPDATED: 05:42 EDT, 11 May 2018
Donald Trump said Thursday that America is respected around the globe again as a result of his leadership as he celebrated the release of three detainees from North Korea at a rally in Indiana.
Trump said his approach to dealing with North Korea is 'leading to some very big things'.
The U.S. president continued: 'And I think that Kim Jong-un did a great service to himself, to his country, by doing this.
'I'll be meeting with Kim Jong Un to secure a future of peace and prosperity for the world and the relationship is good.'
He added: 'America is being respected again.'
Riding high from the prisoner release, Trump mocked former President Barack Obama for what amounted to a ransom payment to Iran during his administration to ensure the safe return of five detainees from Tehran.
'Obama, President Obama, paid $1.8billion for hostages,' Trump said of a settlement that Obama's government paid out only if the prisoners were released. 'We didn't pay for them!' the sitting president said of his own administration.
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Donald Trump said Thursday that America is respected around the globe again as a result of his leadership as he celebrated the release of three detainees from North Korea at a rally in Indiana
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'President Obama, paid $1.8billion for hostages,' Trump said of a settlement that Obama's government paid out. 'We didn't pay for them!' the sitting president said of his own administration
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Trump was greeted to the crowd of 7,500 supporters in Elkhart, Indiana, with chants of 'U S A'
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Trump also talked up the economy, telling a rowdy audience 'we making America proud. We are rockin'
Trump told his supporters that it had been suggested to him that he cancel the campaign event after a 4:30 am return to the White House from Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland.
'And I said, "You just don't know the people of Indiana. I don't have the courage," 'Trump joked.
The President and Vice President were in Elkhart to congratulate Mike Braun, the businessman and former state representative who won Tuesday's GOP Senate primary for Indiana.
Vice President Mike Pence joined Trump at the airport early Thursday morning and also flew with him to Indiana the very same evening. The former governor of the state, Pence was also in high spirits as he made a rare appearance on his home turf.
What the world saw this week is an American president who embraces his role as leader of the free world
Mike Pence on Donald Trump
'It was humbling for me to be there,' the VP said of his Thursday morning excursion to Andrews. 'And it never would have happened without the strong, clear, resolute leadership of President Donald Trump.'
Pence told the crowd, 'What the world saw this week is an American president who embraces his role as leader of the free world.'
He specifically lauded Trump for withdrawing the U.S. 'disastrous' Iran nuclear deal.
'He is a man of his word. He is a man of action. And how about all the action this week,' the Indiana native said to cheers. 'This president took action on Iran. We saw progress on North Korea, and the new American embassy will open in Jerusalem.'
The president and vice president and their spouses were up at the crack of dawn to welcome the three Americans imprisoned in North Korea back to the U.S.
Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim received a hero's welcome, with Donald and Melania Trump clapping and cheering as the men walked down the steps with their arms in the air and giving triumphant 'V' signs, signifying both peace and victory.
Then Trump said the words most observers thought no American president would ever utter: 'We want to thank Kim Jong-un.'
'These are great people. Frankly, we didn't think this was going to happen, but it did. It was important to get these people out. This is a special night for these three really great people,' Trump said in Maryland.
At his Indiana event, Trump said he made sure the detainees were 'welcomed home the proper way' that morning.
'You know what gets you into nuclear wars, and you know what gets you into other wars? Weakness,' Trump said, before switching back to Kim. 'So the relationship is good, and hopefully, I mean for all of us in the world, and hopefully something very good is going to happen. And they understand it's very important to them. It's important to everybody.'
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Vice President Mike Pence joined Trump at the airport early Thursday morning and also flew with him to Indiana the very same evening. The former governor of the state, Pence was also in high spirits. They are seen together on stage at the rally
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Trump also warned of the potential consequences of Democratic wins in the midterms in November that threaten to derail his agenda in Congress
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Trump also warned of the potential consequences of Democratic wins in the midterms in November that threaten to derail his agenda in Congress. He branded Joe Donnelly a 'swamp person'
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Pence told the crowd: 'He is a man of his word. He is a man of action. And how about all the action this week.' He's pictured above on stage with his wife Karen
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The President and Vice President were in Elkhart, Indiana, to congratulate Mike Braun (pictured), the businessman and former state representative who won Tuesday's GOP Senate primary there
Trump thanked Kim for freeing 'the folks early' in Maryland earlier in the day, saying it was 'sort of understood' they'd be released during his planned summit with the 33-year-old despot.
The president said it's his sense that Kim 'really wants to do something' and bring the hermit kingdom 'into the real world.'
He stated: 'We're starting off on a new footing. I really think we have a very good chance of doing something very meaningful, and if anybody would've said that five years ago, 10 years ago, even a year ago, you would've said, "That's not possible." '
Later on Thursday Trump announced that his first-ever in person meeting with Kim would take place in Singapore on June 12.
'I think it's going to be a very big success,' he said of the planned face-to-face with Kim during the rally in Indiana. 'But my attitude is, and if it isn't, it isn't, OK? If it isn't, it isn't. But - and you have to have that, because you don't know - we're not going to be walking into an Iran deal, where the negotiator John Kerry refused to leave the table.'
Trump also said this week that he was pulling the U.S. out the nuclear deal the Obama administration negotiated with Tehran in 2015. He referred to the Iran deal as 'disastrous' in his speech, saying that it would ultimately have allowed the Middle Eastern country to obtain a nuclear weapon.
'I hope to be able to make a deal with them, a good deal, a fair deal,' Trump said. 'But we cannot allow them to have nuclear weapons. We must be able to go to a site and check that site. We have to be able to go into their military bases to see whether or not they’re cheating.'
The president said he believes a new agreement is possible because his administration is 'putting the harshest, strongest, most stringent sanctions on Iran' now that he's ditched the previous accord.
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Trump told his supporters that it had been suggested to him that the cancel the campaign event after a 4.30am return to the White House from Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland. 'And I said, 'You just don't know the people of Indiana. I don't have the courage,' 'Trump joked
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The president and vice president and their spouses were up at the crack of dawn to welcome the three Americans imprisoned in North Korea back to the U.S. Crowds at the Indiana rally later in the day are seen above, with Trump on stage
At the campaign event Trump also set his sights on Indiana Democrat Joe Donnelly, who's up for reelection in November.
'Now if Joe Donnelly, Sleepin' Joe, and the Democrats get back into power, remember what I said, they will raise your taxes,' he claimed. 'They will destroy your jobs, and they are going to knock the hell out of your borders.'
The president said that Donnelly would 'do whatever Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi tell him to do' and 'say one thing' to constituents while fully intending to vote with the Democrats' 'radical, liberal agenda' in Washington.
He pushed his new 'Keep America Great' slogan at the event sponsored by his 2020 campaign, noting that two years from now it wouldn't make sense for him to say he wants to 'Make America Great Again' having already held high office.
Trump said that he paid nothing for his new slogan, while lots of politicians pay millions for a tagline. He used the line to launch his attack on Obama over the money the U.S. unfroze of Iran's just before Tehran released five detainees.
Giving himself a pat on the back for getting the the Americans who'd been held captive home from North Korea safely, Trump said: 'They came out for nothing. And the others came out for 1.8 billion in cash, can you believe it?'
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Trump's political advisers see the rally as a way to project party unity following a bruising primary
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Pence said, 'What the world saw this week is an American president who embraces his role as leader of the free world'
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He says he doesn't think 'we've ever done better as a country.' He says, 'We making America proud. We are rockin'
Trump cast the prisoner release as unrelated to the summit with Kim on Thursday, even though the date and location were announced only after the three men were on the U.S. mainland.
'This is what people have been waiting for for a long time. Nobody thought we could be on this track in terms of speed,' Trump said of nuclear summit with Kim while in Maryland.
The White House had few additional details on the meeting to offer on Thursday evening. Aside from the announced date, the president's deputy spokesman said he could not comment on how long the talks would last or whether Trump would have one-on-one time with Kim.
Singapore was chosen, White House spokesman Raj Shah said, because the country can be trusted to 'ensure both the president’s security and Kim Jong Un’s security as well as provide neutrality.'
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At his Indiana event, Trump said he made sure the detainees were 'welcomed home the proper way' that morning. Trump is pictured arriving at the Indiana rally
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At his Indiana event, Trump said he made sure the detainees were 'welcomed home the proper way' that morning. Trump walks toward members of the media after greeting the three American citizens Kim Hak-Song, Kim Dong-Chul, and Kim Sang-Duk, who were detained in North Korea
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Trump and the first lady boarded a plane to welcome the men home after they were freed by North Korea and arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland
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Kim Dong-chul, speaking about his time in North Korea, said: 'We were treated in many different ways. For me, I had to do a lot of labor. But when I got sick, I was also treated by them'
Trump confirmed early Wednesday that the American prisoners would be coming back to the U.S. with Seceretary of State Pompeo. The president said he'd be waiting for them when they landed at Andrews.
'This is a great honor. Hopefully everything is going to work out at the highest level. We want to thank Kim Jong-un, who really was excellent to these three incredible people,' Trump said from the tarmac. 'They are really three incredible people. And the fact that we were able to get them out so soon was really a tribute to a lot of things, including a certain process that’s taking place right now. And that process is very important.'
One of the freed Americans said through a translator who relayed his sentiment that being home felt 'like a dream' and that the men were 'very, very happy' to be freed. They later gave President Trump a round of applause.
Kim Dong-chul, speaking about his time in North Korea through the translator, said: 'We were treated in many different ways. For me, I had to do a lot of labor. But when I got sick, I was also treated by them.'
Trump's claim that Kim 'was excellent to these three incredible people,' was in contrast to Vice President Mike Pence's suggestion in an ABC interview they had endured harsh conditions.
Pence said Pompeo told him that at a refueling stop in Anchorage, 'one of the detainees asked to go outside the plane because he hadn't seen daylight in a very long time.'
Shah said the White House was not under any 'illusions' about the prisoners' time doing hard labor, as he took questions on Air Force One.
'The whole nation should be pleased with the release of these three Americans. I don’t think anybody’s under any illusions about what life was like in a North Korean prison camp,' he said. 'But nonetheless, the president, the vice president, the entire U.S. government, Secretary Pompeo and everybody else, is pleased to see the release of these three American citizens.'
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Donald Trump and Melania welcomed three Americans imprisoned in North Korea back to America to cheers and applause
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, warmly embraced former North Korean detainee Tony Kim upon tthe plane's 2:00 a.m. arrival at a Maryland air base
[size=34]Who are the Americans freed by North Korea today?[/size]
[size=16]Kim Dong Chul
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Kim Dong Chul is pictured in tears while he was held by North Korea in 2016
A naturalized U.S. citizen born in South Korea, Kim Dong Chul was seized in North Korea on October 2, 2015 and accused of spying.
Though a resident of Virginia – he became an American citizen in 1987 – Kim had lived with his wife in Yanji, China since 2001.
He worked just across the North Korean border in the Rason-Sonbong special economic zone, where he ran a hotel services company. He was also a pastor.
Very little was known about his status until a CNN news crew interviewed him during their visit to Pyongyang in January 2016.
He told reporters during a news conference organized by the dictatorship two months later that he was a spy, explaining that he 'apologized for trying to steal military secrets in collusion with South Koreans' and called his own actions 'unpardonable.'
The North accused him of receiving a USB drive and various papers containing nuclear secrets during a meeting with a defector from the regime.
After a one-day trial in April, he was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor for his supposed espionage.
But previous victims of the regime have explained that they were forced to make similar public declarations of their guilt after being tortured, despite being innocent.
Kim Hak-song
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Kim, who is in his mid 50s, was born in Jilin, China, and educated at a university in California
Kim Hak-song, also known as Jin Xue Song, had been working for the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), undertaking agricultural development work with the school's farm.
He was arrested at a Pyongyang railway station in May 2017 on suspicion of committing 'hostile acts' against the government, as he was boarding a train headed for his home in Dandong, China.
Kim, who is in his mid 50s, was born in Jilin, China, and educated at a university in California, CNN reported, citing a man who had studied with him.
He said Kim returned to China after about 10 years of living in the U.S., where he is a citizen.
PUST was founded by evangelical Christians overseas and opened in 2010, and is known to have a number of American faculty members.
Pupils are generally children from among the North's elite.
It is not known whether Kim was sentenced for his supposed 'hostile acts.'
Kim Sang-duk
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Kim is a former professor at Yanbian University of Science and Technology in China, close to the Korean border
Korean-American Kim Sang-duk – known as Tony Kim – was arrested in April 2017 at Pyongyang's main airport as he tried to leave the country after teaching for several weeks as a guest lecturer, also at PUST.
Kim is a former professor at Yanbian University of Science and Technology in China, close to the Korean border.
Its website lists his speciality as accounting.
He graduated from the University of California Riverside in 1990 with a master's degree in business administration.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency has reported Kim as being in his late 50s and said he had been involved in relief activities for children in rural parts of North Korea.
It cited a source who described him as a 'religiously devoted man.'
He was detained with his wife at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang on April 22, 2017 while waiting for a flight.
Police later arrested Kim but did not explain why. His wife was allowed to leave the country.
PUST said the arrest was not related to his work at the university.
In a Facebook post, Kim's son had said that his family has had no contact with him since his arrest.
Kim will soon become a grandfather. [/size]
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Fri 11 May 2018, 11:16
http://people.com/tv/pamela-anderson-asks-kanye-west-help-wikileaks-julian-assange/
A week after opening up about her relationship with Julian Assange and sharing why she’s concerned about the safety of the controversial WikiLeaks founder, Pamela Anderson is now asking Kanye West to help her “set him free.”
In a letter to the 40-year-old rapper, shared by TMZ Thursday, Anderson started her note by asking West his “thoughts” on Assange.
“Hi Kanye Hope you are well I was wondering about your thoughts on Julian Assange,” wrote the Baywatch star, 50. “I support him and I know you value Free Speech – Visibility is good for him especially in America. Where they are trying to put him away for life or worse for exposing corruption in governments.”
Anderson added that she believes “they are trying to kill [Assange].” “It is Torture,” wrote the actress, sharing that Assange has “been locked in a small room for almost 6 years in London at the Ecuadorian Embassy.”
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Pamela Anderson and Kanye West
CARLOS ALVAREZ/GETTY; PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN/GETTY
“And he now can have no visitors. No Phone calls or internet. They are squeezing him,” continued Anderson, who previously revealed that she hasn’t spoken to Assange in nearly a month, with Assange’s Internet access cut off by the Ecuadorean government.
Assange has been at the embassy for the past six years after claiming political asylum in order to avoid facing extradition to Sweden over a rape allegation he has long refuted. The hacker is also wanted by the United States for espionage charges in relation to WikiLeaks’ publication of classified information.
“He is genius,” Anderson added. “A real world leader that young people love.”
Anderson — who has been at the center of dating rumors with Assange — went on to say that she would like “to seek more voices and share more about his fight.”
“Public support could set him free,” said Anderson. “Media is monopolized So some brave voices are the only Hope to break through.”
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Pamela Anderson and Julian Assange
MARC PIASECKI/GETTY;
RELATED: Pamela Anderson Believes WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Is in Danger: ‘He’s Cut Off from Everybody’
The mom of two also shared how she’s “always supported” West’s “no filter” attitude.
“You speak your mind,” wrote Anderson. “And you make an impact. I’m sure a lot of people feel like you – They just are stuck in what society says is OK to say.”
Anderson concluded the note by telling West to just let her know if he wants to know more about Assange. “Or just look at his life and writing,” said Anderson. “How he has sacrificed for the truth. I think you’d admire him. Take care of you.”
The star signed the note with a heart and her first name, along with a shout out to West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, “for going #FurFree.”
West has recently been very vocal about “free thought,” and caused controversy after he implied slavery was a “choice” for African-Americansduring an interview on TMZ Live on May 1.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on May 2, Anderson talked about how she first met Assange “years ago” through punk designer Vivienne Westwood.
Though Anderson has remained coy about the nature of their relationship, she called Assange “one of my favorite people” in one of her many lengthy posts on her website.
As for their conversations, Anderson told THR that they often cover a variety of topics.
“We talk about everything. We talk about the Bible, we talk about what’s happening with my kids, what’s happening with his family,” she recalled. “It’s not just about politics, even though I do take a lot of notes and it’s so overwhelming, the information he gives me.”
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Anderson visiting Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in February 2017
NEIL MOCKFORD/GC IMAGES
RELATED: Is Pamela Anderson Dating WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange? ‘It’s No Secret, He Is One of My Favorite People,’ She Says
Anderson also shared that she’s worried for Assange telling THR that she believes he’s in “grave danger.”
“He’s cut off from everybody,” said Anderson, adding that she was even denied access to see him during a trip to London in April.
She continued: “The air and light quality [at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London] is terrible because he can’t keep his windows open and he can’t get any sunlight. Even prisoners can go outside, but he can’t.”
Anderson, who is a vegan activist, also revealed that she brings Assange food.
“I’m always bringing him vegan food, but he eats very simply,” said Anderson. “I talked to him on the phone the day [his Internet] was shut off. He sent me an urgent call. And now, nothing.”
[size=40]Pamela Anderson Begs Kanye West to Help WikiLeaks' Julian Assange: 'They Are Trying to Kill Him'[/size]
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MARIAH HAAS
May 10, 2018 09:53 PMA week after opening up about her relationship with Julian Assange and sharing why she’s concerned about the safety of the controversial WikiLeaks founder, Pamela Anderson is now asking Kanye West to help her “set him free.”
In a letter to the 40-year-old rapper, shared by TMZ Thursday, Anderson started her note by asking West his “thoughts” on Assange.
“Hi Kanye Hope you are well I was wondering about your thoughts on Julian Assange,” wrote the Baywatch star, 50. “I support him and I know you value Free Speech – Visibility is good for him especially in America. Where they are trying to put him away for life or worse for exposing corruption in governments.”
Anderson added that she believes “they are trying to kill [Assange].” “It is Torture,” wrote the actress, sharing that Assange has “been locked in a small room for almost 6 years in London at the Ecuadorian Embassy.”
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Pamela Anderson and Kanye West
CARLOS ALVAREZ/GETTY; PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN/GETTY
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“And he now can have no visitors. No Phone calls or internet. They are squeezing him,” continued Anderson, who previously revealed that she hasn’t spoken to Assange in nearly a month, with Assange’s Internet access cut off by the Ecuadorean government.
Assange has been at the embassy for the past six years after claiming political asylum in order to avoid facing extradition to Sweden over a rape allegation he has long refuted. The hacker is also wanted by the United States for espionage charges in relation to WikiLeaks’ publication of classified information.
“He is genius,” Anderson added. “A real world leader that young people love.”
Anderson — who has been at the center of dating rumors with Assange — went on to say that she would like “to seek more voices and share more about his fight.”
“Public support could set him free,” said Anderson. “Media is monopolized So some brave voices are the only Hope to break through.”
[url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Ftv%2Fpamela-anderson-asks-kanye-west-help-wikileaks-julian-assange%2F&media=https%3A%2F%2Fpeopledotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2018%2F05%2Fpamela-anderson-julian-assange.jpg&description=Pamela Anderson Begs Kanye West to Help WikiLeaks%27 Julian Assange%3A %27They Are Trying to Kill Him%27][/url]
Pamela Anderson and Julian Assange
MARC PIASECKI/GETTY;
RELATED: Pamela Anderson Believes WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Is in Danger: ‘He’s Cut Off from Everybody’
The mom of two also shared how she’s “always supported” West’s “no filter” attitude.
“You speak your mind,” wrote Anderson. “And you make an impact. I’m sure a lot of people feel like you – They just are stuck in what society says is OK to say.”
Anderson concluded the note by telling West to just let her know if he wants to know more about Assange. “Or just look at his life and writing,” said Anderson. “How he has sacrificed for the truth. I think you’d admire him. Take care of you.”
The star signed the note with a heart and her first name, along with a shout out to West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, “for going #FurFree.”
West has recently been very vocal about “free thought,” and caused controversy after he implied slavery was a “choice” for African-Americansduring an interview on TMZ Live on May 1.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on May 2, Anderson talked about how she first met Assange “years ago” through punk designer Vivienne Westwood.
Though Anderson has remained coy about the nature of their relationship, she called Assange “one of my favorite people” in one of her many lengthy posts on her website.
As for their conversations, Anderson told THR that they often cover a variety of topics.
“We talk about everything. We talk about the Bible, we talk about what’s happening with my kids, what’s happening with his family,” she recalled. “It’s not just about politics, even though I do take a lot of notes and it’s so overwhelming, the information he gives me.”
[url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Ftv%2Fpamela-anderson-asks-kanye-west-help-wikileaks-julian-assange%2F&media=https%3A%2F%2Fpeopledotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2017%2F02%2Fpamela-anderson1.jpg&description=Pamela Anderson Begs Kanye West to Help WikiLeaks%27 Julian Assange%3A %27They Are Trying to Kill Him%27][/url]
Anderson visiting Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in February 2017
NEIL MOCKFORD/GC IMAGES
RELATED: Is Pamela Anderson Dating WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange? ‘It’s No Secret, He Is One of My Favorite People,’ She Says
Anderson also shared that she’s worried for Assange telling THR that she believes he’s in “grave danger.”
“He’s cut off from everybody,” said Anderson, adding that she was even denied access to see him during a trip to London in April.
She continued: “The air and light quality [at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London] is terrible because he can’t keep his windows open and he can’t get any sunlight. Even prisoners can go outside, but he can’t.”
Anderson, who is a vegan activist, also revealed that she brings Assange food.
“I’m always bringing him vegan food, but he eats very simply,” said Anderson. “I talked to him on the phone the day [his Internet] was shut off. He sent me an urgent call. And now, nothing.”
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sat 12 May 2018, 15:45
[size=34]Trump administration quietly cancels $10m NASA program that tracks key greenhouse gases as part of its 'attack on climate science'[/size]
By MEGAN SHEETS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 08:56 EDT, 12 May 2018 | UPDATED: 08:56 EDT, 12 May 2018
A $10million per year NASA program to track key global warming contributors carbon and methane has been canceled.
The program called the Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) was cut due to 'budget constraints and higher priorities within the science budget, a spokesperson for the space agency said Thursday.
A report from the journal Science called the shut down the latest move in a 'broad attack on climate science' by the White House.
'NASA's CMS has helped stitch together observations of sources and sinks into high-resolution models of the planet's flows of carbon,' the journal wrote.
'Now, President Donald Trump's administration has quietly killed the CMS.'
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A report from the journal Science called shutting down the Carbon Monitoring System the latest move in a 'broad attack on climate science' by the White House. Trump is pictured during the speech where he announced the US was pulling out of the Paris climate accord last June
The journal science reported that the key problem with cutting CMS is that the move limits the America's ability to measure greenhouse gas emissions, and 'you can't manage what you don't measure'.
However, looking at the situation from Trump's point of view, the move makes more sense.
Throughout his campaign and his presidency Trump has remained firm in his belief that global warming does not exist.
Also last year Trump had proposed cutting the CMS project along with four Earth science missions.
In the March 2018 budget Congress ultimately voted to keep those space missions, but left out the CMS.
NASA spokesperson Steve Cole told Science the move to cut CMS from the budget was a joint effort by lawmakers and the Trump Administration.
The CMS was designed to monitor greenhouse gas emissions on a large scale. The map above shows concentrations of nitrogen dioxide detected by a satellite
The CMS was designed in 2010 to track sources and sinks for carbon and make high resolution models of the planet's flows of carbon.
Cole said that existing grants would be allowed to finish, but no new research would be supported.
He added: 'Winding down of this specific research program does not curb NASA's ability or commitment to monitoring carbon and its effects on our changing planet.'
Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy Kelly Sims Gallagher disagrees, calling the shutdown of the program 'a grave mistake'.
Gallagher is the director of Tufts University's Center for International Environment and Resource Policy in Medford, Massachusetts.
She said eliminating the CMS interferes with efforts to verify the emission cuts agreed to in the Paris climate deal.
'If you cannot measure emissions reductions, you cannot be confident that countries are adhering to the agreement,' she told Science.
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- NASA's $10m-per-year Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) has been canceled
- The program was designed to track greenhouse gases carbon and methane
- A report from the journal Science called the shut down the latest move in a 'broad attack on climate science' by the White House
- Experts say the program was integral to measuring emissions and making sure the US is complying with the Paris climate accord regulations
By MEGAN SHEETS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 08:56 EDT, 12 May 2018 | UPDATED: 08:56 EDT, 12 May 2018
A $10million per year NASA program to track key global warming contributors carbon and methane has been canceled.
The program called the Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) was cut due to 'budget constraints and higher priorities within the science budget, a spokesperson for the space agency said Thursday.
A report from the journal Science called the shut down the latest move in a 'broad attack on climate science' by the White House.
'NASA's CMS has helped stitch together observations of sources and sinks into high-resolution models of the planet's flows of carbon,' the journal wrote.
'Now, President Donald Trump's administration has quietly killed the CMS.'
Scroll down for video
+1
A report from the journal Science called shutting down the Carbon Monitoring System the latest move in a 'broad attack on climate science' by the White House. Trump is pictured during the speech where he announced the US was pulling out of the Paris climate accord last June
The journal science reported that the key problem with cutting CMS is that the move limits the America's ability to measure greenhouse gas emissions, and 'you can't manage what you don't measure'.
However, looking at the situation from Trump's point of view, the move makes more sense.
Throughout his campaign and his presidency Trump has remained firm in his belief that global warming does not exist.
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Last June he announced the US would be pulling out of the Paris climate accord, a deal signed by more than 190 nations to slash polluting emissions from fossil fuels.Also last year Trump had proposed cutting the CMS project along with four Earth science missions.
In the March 2018 budget Congress ultimately voted to keep those space missions, but left out the CMS.
NASA spokesperson Steve Cole told Science the move to cut CMS from the budget was a joint effort by lawmakers and the Trump Administration.
The CMS was designed to monitor greenhouse gas emissions on a large scale. The map above shows concentrations of nitrogen dioxide detected by a satellite
The CMS was designed in 2010 to track sources and sinks for carbon and make high resolution models of the planet's flows of carbon.
Cole said that existing grants would be allowed to finish, but no new research would be supported.
He added: 'Winding down of this specific research program does not curb NASA's ability or commitment to monitoring carbon and its effects on our changing planet.'
Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy Kelly Sims Gallagher disagrees, calling the shutdown of the program 'a grave mistake'.
Gallagher is the director of Tufts University's Center for International Environment and Resource Policy in Medford, Massachusetts.
She said eliminating the CMS interferes with efforts to verify the emission cuts agreed to in the Paris climate deal.
'If you cannot measure emissions reductions, you cannot be confident that countries are adhering to the agreement,' she told Science.
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annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by party animal - not! Sat 12 May 2018, 22:31
Terrible, Annemarie
Here's more hopeful news from the #marchforourlives team
http://www.tmz.com/2018/05/12/waffle-house-hero-james-shaw-parkland-students-emma-gonzalez-david-hogg/
Here's more hopeful news from the #marchforourlives team
http://www.tmz.com/2018/05/12/waffle-house-hero-james-shaw-parkland-students-emma-gonzalez-david-hogg/
party animal - not!- George Clooney fan forever!
- Posts : 12383
Join date : 2012-02-16
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sun 13 May 2018, 00:24
[size=40]WAFFLE HOUSE HERO[size=72]JOINS UP WITH PARKLAND STUDENT HEROES[/size][/size]
503
5/12/2018 12:58 PM PDT
Waffle House Hero James Shaw Jr. Meets with Parkland Students
EXCLUSIVE DETAILS
James Shaw Jr. -- the man who heroically disarmed the Waffle House gunman last month and saved lives -- just met with a bunch of fellow young heroes trying to save many more lives in the future.
James shared a pic with Parkland student leader Emma Gonzalez Saturday, saying he met one of his heroes today. Fellow student activist David Hogg also shared a photo with Shaw, saying ... "Wow, just wow ... lots of work ahead but the young people will win. #YPWW"
Sources close to David tell us ... he and a group of Parkland peeps drove to meet with James because he's a hero. We're told they had breakfast together at Denny's in Miami, and they're all hopeful to work with him in the future if the opportunity arises.
That seems highly possible, especially since James says meeting with the young adults of the Parkland incident with "so much fire and inspiration in their eyes was a great joy."
As we've reported ... Shaw says he's now on a mission to bring awareness to mental health problems in the U.S., and we know the Parkland students are serious about gun reform in the country.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sun 13 May 2018, 08:11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5721945/America-faces-epidemic-dishonesty-Washington-says-Michael-Bloomberg.html
[size=34]America faces an 'epidemic' of dishonesty in Washington that is more dangerous than TERRORISM, says Michael Bloomberg[/size]
By RORY TINGLE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:09 EDT, 12 May 2018 | UPDATED: 17:55 EDT, 12 May 2018
The billionaire warned in a commencement speech at Rice University in Texas that 'an endless barrage of lies' in national politics. He is pictured in Washington on April 19
Americans are facing an 'epidemic of dishonesty' in Washington that is more dangerous than terrorism or communism, Michael Bloomberg said on Saturday.
The billionaire, 76, warned in a commencement speech at Rice University in Texas that 'an endless barrage of lies' and a trend toward 'alternate realities' in national politics pose a dire threat to US democracy.
The former New York Major did not comment on President Trump despite previously dismissing him as a 'con'. The problem was 'bigger than one person', he said in a pre-speech interview.
In the speech, Bloomberg evoked the legend of the nation's first president, George Washington, who as a boy said he could not tell a lie when asked if he cut down a cherry tree.
'How did we go from a president who could not tell a lie to politicians who cannot tell the truth?' Bloomberg asked Rice graduates and their families gathered in Houston.
+2
Bloomberg, who has previously branded Donald Trump a 'con', refused to comment on the President in a pre-speech interview. He is pictured at the White House on May 8 next to a portrait of George Washington, who Bloomberg held up as an exemplar
Bloomberg, who flirted with an independent presidential run in 2016, blamed 'extreme partisanship' for an unprecedented tolerance of dishonesty in U.S. politics.
People are committed more to their political tribes than the truth, he said, suggesting that the nation is more divided than any time since the Civil War.
'There is now more tolerance for dishonesty in politics than I have seen in my lifetime,' Bloomberg said.
'The only thing more dangerous than dishonest politicians who have no respect for the law is a chorus of enablers who defend their every lie.'
For example, he noted that Democrats spent much of the 1990s defending President Bill Clinton against charges of lying and personal immorality just as Republicans attacked the lack of ethics and honesty in the White House. Just the reverse is happening today, he said.
In one jab at Trump, he noted that the vast majority of scientists agree that climate change is real.
+2
Bloomberg recalled a legend about Washington's honesty as a child during the speech. The First President is seen in an undated painting
Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly called climate change a hoax promoted by America's adversaries.
'If 99 percent of scientists whose research has been peer-reviewed reach the same general conclusion about a theory, then we ought to accept it as the best available information — even if it's not a 100 percent certainty,' Bloomberg said.
He added: 'That, graduates, is not a Chinese hoax.'
He warned that such deep levels of dishonesty could enable what he called 'criminality.'
Asked what specifically he was talking about, Bloomberg noted 'lots of investigations' going on, but he declined to be more specific.
Several Trump associates are facing criminal charges as part of a federal probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.
Three have already pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI. Federal investigators want to interview Trump himself, although the president's legal team has resisted so far.
'When elected officials speak as though they are above the truth, they will act as though they are above the law,' Bloomberg told Rice graduates.
'And when we tolerate dishonesty, we get criminality. Sometimes, it's in the form of corruption. Sometimes, it's abuse of power. And sometimes, it's both.'
'The greatest threat to American democracy isn't communism, jihadism, or any other external force or foreign power,' he continued.
'It's our own willingness to tolerate dishonesty in service of party, and in pursuit of power.'
[size=34]America faces an 'epidemic' of dishonesty in Washington that is more dangerous than TERRORISM, says Michael Bloomberg[/size]
- The billionaire, 76, warned that a 'barrage of lies' poses dire threat to democracy
- Didn't refer to President Trump directly although he has dismissed him as a 'con'
- Was speaking on Saturday at commencement speech at Rice University in Texas
By RORY TINGLE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:09 EDT, 12 May 2018 | UPDATED: 17:55 EDT, 12 May 2018
The billionaire warned in a commencement speech at Rice University in Texas that 'an endless barrage of lies' in national politics. He is pictured in Washington on April 19
Americans are facing an 'epidemic of dishonesty' in Washington that is more dangerous than terrorism or communism, Michael Bloomberg said on Saturday.
The billionaire, 76, warned in a commencement speech at Rice University in Texas that 'an endless barrage of lies' and a trend toward 'alternate realities' in national politics pose a dire threat to US democracy.
The former New York Major did not comment on President Trump despite previously dismissing him as a 'con'. The problem was 'bigger than one person', he said in a pre-speech interview.
In the speech, Bloomberg evoked the legend of the nation's first president, George Washington, who as a boy said he could not tell a lie when asked if he cut down a cherry tree.
'How did we go from a president who could not tell a lie to politicians who cannot tell the truth?' Bloomberg asked Rice graduates and their families gathered in Houston.
+2
Bloomberg, who has previously branded Donald Trump a 'con', refused to comment on the President in a pre-speech interview. He is pictured at the White House on May 8 next to a portrait of George Washington, who Bloomberg held up as an exemplar
Bloomberg, who flirted with an independent presidential run in 2016, blamed 'extreme partisanship' for an unprecedented tolerance of dishonesty in U.S. politics.
People are committed more to their political tribes than the truth, he said, suggesting that the nation is more divided than any time since the Civil War.
'There is now more tolerance for dishonesty in politics than I have seen in my lifetime,' Bloomberg said.
'The only thing more dangerous than dishonest politicians who have no respect for the law is a chorus of enablers who defend their every lie.'
For example, he noted that Democrats spent much of the 1990s defending President Bill Clinton against charges of lying and personal immorality just as Republicans attacked the lack of ethics and honesty in the White House. Just the reverse is happening today, he said.
In one jab at Trump, he noted that the vast majority of scientists agree that climate change is real.
+2
Bloomberg recalled a legend about Washington's honesty as a child during the speech. The First President is seen in an undated painting
Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly called climate change a hoax promoted by America's adversaries.
'If 99 percent of scientists whose research has been peer-reviewed reach the same general conclusion about a theory, then we ought to accept it as the best available information — even if it's not a 100 percent certainty,' Bloomberg said.
He added: 'That, graduates, is not a Chinese hoax.'
He warned that such deep levels of dishonesty could enable what he called 'criminality.'
Asked what specifically he was talking about, Bloomberg noted 'lots of investigations' going on, but he declined to be more specific.
Several Trump associates are facing criminal charges as part of a federal probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.
Three have already pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI. Federal investigators want to interview Trump himself, although the president's legal team has resisted so far.
'When elected officials speak as though they are above the truth, they will act as though they are above the law,' Bloomberg told Rice graduates.
'And when we tolerate dishonesty, we get criminality. Sometimes, it's in the form of corruption. Sometimes, it's abuse of power. And sometimes, it's both.'
'The greatest threat to American democracy isn't communism, jihadism, or any other external force or foreign power,' he continued.
'It's our own willingness to tolerate dishonesty in service of party, and in pursuit of power.'
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
Re: The Serious Side - part 6
by annemarie Sun 13 May 2018, 18:16
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5723645/Its-possible-U-S-sanction-European-companies-business-Iran-says-Trump-advisor.html
[size=34]Trump's national security advisor says 'it's possible' U.S. will sanction European companies that do business with Iran[/size]
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 10:52 EDT, 13 May 2018 | UPDATED: 11:43 EDT, 13 May 2018
Donald Trump's national security advisor refused on Sunday to say whether the United States would punish European companies that do not cease their business operations in Iran by the end of this year.
Companies within affected industries between 90 days and six months to wind down operations in Iran or run the risk of facing stiff penalties now that the United States is no longer a party to an international accord that lifted sanctions on Tehran.
National Security Advisor John Bolton said on CNN's 'State of the Union' that 'it's possible' the Trump administration will impose sanctions on companies that run afoul of the new U.S. policies.
'It depends on the conduct of other governments,' he stated.
+2
Donald Trump's national security advisor refused on Sunday to say whether the United States would punish European companies that do not cease their business operations in Iran by the end of this year
European leaders are committed to remaining in the agreement with Tehran that lifted economic sanctions on the Middle Eastern country so long as it abided by the terms of a 2015 nuclear deal.
But a host of companies are now faced with the prospect of doing business with U.S. or protecting their interests in Tehran.
In his remarks announcing the United States' withdraw from the deal, President Trump threatened, 'We will be instituting the highest level of economic sanction. Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States.'
Bolton said in a briefing with reporters immediately after the Tuesday announcement that it would be up to the Treasury Department to determine which affected companies, if any, would get a pass.
British Prime Minister Theresa May raised the issue in a Friday phone call with Trump, a spokesperson for the European leader said.
'The Prime Minister reiterated the Government's position on the Iran nuclear deal, noting that we and our European partners remain firmly committed to ensuring the deal is upheld, as the best way of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
'The Prime Minister raised the potential impact of US sanctions on those firms which are currently conducting business in Iran.'
+2
Donald Trump last night tore up the Iran nuclear deal, which could force Britain's biggest businesses out of the country
Major British businesses with interests in Iran include Rolls-Royce, Vodafone and British Airways. UK companies have invested £450 billion into Tehran since the U.S. and Europe lifted sanctions after the signing of the accord with partners Russia and China.
Finance ministers in France and Germany pushed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to grant extensions or waivers to businesses that made lucrative deals with Tehran in the period that sanctions were lifted.
Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, said European states will also try to impose sanctions-blocking measures through the European Commission.
'Do we accept extraterritorial sanctions? The answer is no,' Le Maire said.
'Do we accept that the United States is the economic gendarme of the planet? The answer is no. Do we accept the vassalization of Europe in commercial matters? The answer is no.'
Le Maire is seeking exemptions for Renault, Total, Sanofi, Danone and Peugeot and other companies already doing business with Tehran.
Trump's new ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, suggested that exemptions were unlikely, saying Thursday, 'German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately.'
European companies did not have an immediate have a reaction to possibility that they would have to cease operations in Iran or be barred from doing business with the U.S. other than to say in statements that they were monitoring the situation.
'We are examining the announcement and its potential implications,' Rolls Royce said. 'We conduct business in all countries, including Iran, in accordance with all relevant UK, EU or other national sanctions and export control regulations.'
British Airways, which operates six flights a week between London Heathrow and Tehran, said, 'We constantly review our network to ensure that our routes match our customers' needs and are commercially viable. We are in regular contact with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.'
Trump's tough talk now on sanctions is at odds with what he told France's Emmanuel Macon and May just six months ago as he moved toward yanking the U.S. out of the deal.
He said in October that he told the allies 'take all the money you can get' from Tehran.
'Actually, Emmanuel called up, and he talked to me. And I said, look, Emmanuel, they just gave Renault a lot of money. Take their money; enjoy yourselves,' Trump said then.
The U.S. president said that the European leaders wanted him to stay in the deal he'd said he'd exit since he was a candidate because of the financial implications of leaving it.
'You know, Iran is spending money in various countries. And I've always said it, and I say to them: Don't do anything. Don't worry about it. Take all the money you can get. They're all friends of mine,' Trump said.
[size=34]Trump's national security advisor says 'it's possible' U.S. will sanction European companies that do business with Iran[/size]
- Companies in affected industries have between 90 days and six months to wind down operations in Iran or run the risk of facing stiff U.S. penalties
National Security Advisor John Bolton said Sunday that 'it's possible' the Trump administration will impose sanctions on companies that don't play ball - European leaders are lobbying the Trump administration not reimpose external sanctions that could hurt their economies
- Trump himself said in October that he told Frances's Macron and the UK's May 'take all the money you can get' from Iran
By FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 10:52 EDT, 13 May 2018 | UPDATED: 11:43 EDT, 13 May 2018
Donald Trump's national security advisor refused on Sunday to say whether the United States would punish European companies that do not cease their business operations in Iran by the end of this year.
Companies within affected industries between 90 days and six months to wind down operations in Iran or run the risk of facing stiff penalties now that the United States is no longer a party to an international accord that lifted sanctions on Tehran.
National Security Advisor John Bolton said on CNN's 'State of the Union' that 'it's possible' the Trump administration will impose sanctions on companies that run afoul of the new U.S. policies.
'It depends on the conduct of other governments,' he stated.
+2
Donald Trump's national security advisor refused on Sunday to say whether the United States would punish European companies that do not cease their business operations in Iran by the end of this year
European leaders are committed to remaining in the agreement with Tehran that lifted economic sanctions on the Middle Eastern country so long as it abided by the terms of a 2015 nuclear deal.
But a host of companies are now faced with the prospect of doing business with U.S. or protecting their interests in Tehran.
In his remarks announcing the United States' withdraw from the deal, President Trump threatened, 'We will be instituting the highest level of economic sanction. Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could also be strongly sanctioned by the United States.'
Bolton said in a briefing with reporters immediately after the Tuesday announcement that it would be up to the Treasury Department to determine which affected companies, if any, would get a pass.
British Prime Minister Theresa May raised the issue in a Friday phone call with Trump, a spokesperson for the European leader said.
'The Prime Minister reiterated the Government's position on the Iran nuclear deal, noting that we and our European partners remain firmly committed to ensuring the deal is upheld, as the best way of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
'The Prime Minister raised the potential impact of US sanctions on those firms which are currently conducting business in Iran.'
+2
Donald Trump last night tore up the Iran nuclear deal, which could force Britain's biggest businesses out of the country
Major British businesses with interests in Iran include Rolls-Royce, Vodafone and British Airways. UK companies have invested £450 billion into Tehran since the U.S. and Europe lifted sanctions after the signing of the accord with partners Russia and China.
Finance ministers in France and Germany pushed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to grant extensions or waivers to businesses that made lucrative deals with Tehran in the period that sanctions were lifted.
Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, said European states will also try to impose sanctions-blocking measures through the European Commission.
'Do we accept extraterritorial sanctions? The answer is no,' Le Maire said.
'Do we accept that the United States is the economic gendarme of the planet? The answer is no. Do we accept the vassalization of Europe in commercial matters? The answer is no.'
Le Maire is seeking exemptions for Renault, Total, Sanofi, Danone and Peugeot and other companies already doing business with Tehran.
Trump's new ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, suggested that exemptions were unlikely, saying Thursday, 'German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately.'
European companies did not have an immediate have a reaction to possibility that they would have to cease operations in Iran or be barred from doing business with the U.S. other than to say in statements that they were monitoring the situation.
'We are examining the announcement and its potential implications,' Rolls Royce said. 'We conduct business in all countries, including Iran, in accordance with all relevant UK, EU or other national sanctions and export control regulations.'
British Airways, which operates six flights a week between London Heathrow and Tehran, said, 'We constantly review our network to ensure that our routes match our customers' needs and are commercially viable. We are in regular contact with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.'
Trump's tough talk now on sanctions is at odds with what he told France's Emmanuel Macon and May just six months ago as he moved toward yanking the U.S. out of the deal.
He said in October that he told the allies 'take all the money you can get' from Tehran.
'Actually, Emmanuel called up, and he talked to me. And I said, look, Emmanuel, they just gave Renault a lot of money. Take their money; enjoy yourselves,' Trump said then.
The U.S. president said that the European leaders wanted him to stay in the deal he'd said he'd exit since he was a candidate because of the financial implications of leaving it.
'You know, Iran is spending money in various countries. And I've always said it, and I say to them: Don't do anything. Don't worry about it. Take all the money you can get. They're all friends of mine,' Trump said.
annemarie- Over the Clooney moon
- Posts : 10309
Join date : 2011-09-11
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