Friday, January 3, 2020

Pompeo called Netanyahu, MBS, and MBZ more than once in the past few days to discuss Iran, per State Department. And today AFTER the assassination of Qassim Soleimani he is calling America’s closest allies in Europe, UK, Germany, ... to explain the attack to them.


FBI raids home, office of lobbyist Michael Esposito


Yikes. Major cult energy at Trump's evangelical event in Miami.


US officials tells @NBCNews that Soleimani killed for plotting to strike US targets in Syria & Lebanon. Congressional aide briefed on intel said lawmakers saw nothing explicitly linking him to imminent attack - the planning & coordination not out of the ordinary for Quds Force.


Can’t imagine there is anything interesting in Lev Parnas’ iPhone


"It's always been Soleimani's strategic game... to get us out of the Middle East. He wants to see us leave Syria, he wants to see us leave Iraq... I think if we leave Iraq after this, that would just be a real disastrous outcome..."


Translation: THEY CONSULTED WITH RUSSIA FIRST BUT NOT CONGRESS


Rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran have proven to be beneficial for the Russian stock market. Oil prices soared following Soleimani killing and the Moscow Stock Exchange reached an all-time record levels, rising to the highest point in its history.


Trump administration briefed Israel on the Suleimani attack before it briefed Congress: report


Trump & Pompeo say the Soleimani strike was intended to head off imminent attack, but the DoD statement didn’t say imminent. And this report says the strike was approved after last week’s KH attack & JSOC was just waiting for a clean shot.


The leaders are still at a stalemate on the terms for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump


The US Secretary of State is briefing authoritarian foreign leaders but not members of Congress about American military strikes


President Trump does not have the authority for a war with Iran. This action may well have brought our nation closer to another endless war, the kind of endless war he promised not to drag us into. Congress & the American people need answers from the Administration immediately


JUST IN: Judge allows PARNAS to begin sharing documents and contents of iPhone -- initially seized by law enforcement -- with the House.


BREAKING: A Whistleblower told the FBI that Trump’s Deutsche Bank loans were backed by Russian state-owned bank, VTB Bank. VTB was proposed lender for Trump Tower Moscow and allegedly funded the Rosneft Deal. New docs show deep ties between Deutsche + VTB.


A former Fox News reporter has come forward to accuse Donald Trump of making an unwanted sexual advance


Wow! A treasure trove of Parnas documents are about to be produced to @RepAdamSchiff given court order. Very bad news for Trump and Giuliani.


Soleimani was no stateless outlaw like Bin Laden. This U.S. action sets us on a dangerous path of escalation.


Russia Blames Trump’s Iran Strike on Impeachment: “For Trump, the annihilation of an Iranian General presents a decent opportunity for a domestic PR campaign, which is quite timely in the context of the upcoming elections.”


In the 2020 Democratic primary, Pete Buttigieg has received more from Wall Street than any other candidate - will this ultimately help, or hurt his campaign?


REVENGE LOOMS: Tens of thousands mourn & march in protest over the assassination of a man deemed a nat’l hero in Iran — Gen. Qasem Soleimani. The streets of Tehran are alive with cries of “Death to America” following the US airstrike that killed Soleimani.


We don't know who has access to the president at Mar-a-Lago. We don't know who he's meeting with or what he's discussing. It's terrifying to have to question whether any of Trump's paying customers knew more about the killing of an Iranian general than Members of Congress did.


"Four Years Ago, Trump Had No Clue who Iran's Suleimani Was." When Hewitt told Trump that Suleimani "runs the Quds Forces," Trump said: "I think the Kurds, by the way, have been horribly mistreated by us." Hewitt: "No, not the Kurds, the Quds Forces."


McGahn takeaways:


Tens of thousands are now rallying against the United States in Tehran. Donald Trump has made sure the people of Iran hate us, and pushed their government into a position where they feel forced to retaliate. He is unfit to be our Commander in Chief


After the killing of Soleimani, the Pentagon is reticent to speak today. No briefings planned, and few details available about latest state of play. No one so far willing or able to address the specifics about what Pompeo said about a plot against Americans being "imminent."


BREAKING: Tennessee Congressman Phil Roe has announced he is not running for re-election


Don’t bring thst BS here Deb. Trump ordered an assassination without consulting Congress. That didn’t take “billions” - so what is egregious and reprehensible is you lying and blaming a Democrat for the actions of a Republican President. Stop.


Can anyone provide any details about the contractor that was killed in Iraq? There seems to be no information about the event which led to us bombing Iraq, which led to the embassy siege, which then led to an assassination. This is a major gap in a massive escalation.


The state of the union speech line referencing killing Soleimani will be written to maximize this line of attack. GOP will all leap to their feet in wild applause while the DEMs sit motionless. And FoxNews nation will eat it up.


I was thinking about this. The easiest, cheapest, hit-trump-where-it-hurts move by Iran would be to start releasing drip-drip-drip details of his dirty deal in Baku w the IRGC to the press.


This is from July of 2018. Why didn't Trump kill him then? I also posted this because a theory is starting to spread and I want to make it clear that Trump should have known exactly who Soleimani was and what role he played.


Jullian Assange is a well known Russian intelligence agent of influence who worked to attack democratic elections on behalf of the Russian dictatorship. Great piece


France urged its citizens in Iran to stay away from public gatherings and the Netherlands told Dutch nationals to leave Baghdad


Remember when conservatives furiously denied pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal would lead to military conflict?


Stock futures dropped and oil prices surged early Friday after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian general, reigniting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.


This circular BS is exactly why @realDonaldTrump was impeached for obstructing Congress. Throughout the hearings House GOP whined, “wait for the courts.” In this case, @HouseDemocrats went to court, and Trump says courts shouldn’t be involved. Trump is just an obstructor.— Rep. Eric Swalwell


DOJ lawyer currently arguing to federal appeals court that courts have no role in resolving disputes between Congress / Executive branch.


FUTURE SCENARIO: Since Trump's wall and scare-a-van strategy failed miserably in 2018 election, his new boogeyman is Iran. Don't be surprised if Trump starts a conspiracy theory that Iran will hack 2020 to favor the Dems. Trump may even use it as rationale to suspend elections.


An eerie feeling reading this news, reminiscent of when the US invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple a brutal dictator—and set in motion a chain of consequences for which America was utterly unprepared. As Gen. Petraeus said in 2003: Tell me how this ends.


Wait, so Eric Trump — a ‘private business owner’ with no ties to Donald Trump — apparently knew about a foreign military action before members of Congress? Seems rather troubling.


If Pompeo is such a fortune teller, why didn't they see the attack on the embassy before it happened? This preemptive assassination lie is very weak.


Sweet Mother of Christ. If this is true, the Deutsche Bank case is 100x more explosive than even I ever imagined. The amount of compromise posed by a POTUS owning this kind of money to a Russian state-owned bank is simply mind-blowing.


Here's my interview with @CaslerNoel, talking about @realDonaldTrump, @IvankaTrump, and all the things Noel saw when working behind the scenes on The Apprentice.


That’s gonna be a hard needle for Tulsi to thread.


Trump shreds norms, laws, the Constitution, he's in bed with various shady Russians, he fawns over Putin...and you're worried he didn't consult the Gang of 8 over killing Soleimani? He's gonna get reelected if this keeps up, folks.


Right now, we have two separate U.S. government explanations for assassinating Soleimani. Pentagon: It was meant to deter future Iranian aggression. Pompeo: "There was an imminent attack taking place" we needed to stop. Could both be true? I suppose. But it's confusing.


I thought we abandoned the Kurds because it was time to bring our service members home? Can someone please explain the disconnect to me?


“Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the US media” - Noam Chomsky


Pompeo just said “Americans in the region are much safer today”. That’s obviously not true. We are immediately evacuating all Americans from Iraq. At this perilous moment, the Administrarion must be truthful about what they did and the consequences. This isn’t a good start.


#BREAKING: US Official: 750 Marines arrive at US Embassy in Baghdad to secure it


Obama managed to box in and economically strangle both Russia and Iran without ever firing a shot. Trump has singlehandedly undone all of that; resuscitated their influence; and endangered American interests in return for absolutely nothing.


Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev calls U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani "worst case scenario," expects new U.S.-Iran clashes. Russia's Foreign Ministry calls the decision foolhardy, sends condolences to the Iranian people.


Trump’s impulsive decision to kill Soleimani did not “prevent threats to American lives.” It guaranteed them. Soleimani was a bad man, but so is Putin. And Kim Jong Un. How many Americans will die because Trump desperately needs to stay in power to keep from going to jail?


I oversaw the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative at DOD. Reading these emails, it's clear DOD was telling the White House in no uncertain terms: we want no part of your illegal freeze in aid. And the answer back was equally clear: POTUS ordered it.


McCabe suing Barr


Right, killing #Soleimani was to deter violence. In the same way holding back Ukraine aid was to investigate corruption, or the Russia meeting was about adoption, or the wall is already built, or Kim Jong-un is a man of his word. The lies are stacking up like pancakes.


New U.S. travel advice for Iraq: -Depart Iraq immediately -Depart via airline “while possible” -Failing that, to “other countries via land” (what other countries? Iran? Syria?) -U.S. citizens should not approach the embassy


I hate Qasem Soleimani. He helped kill my friends and was a force for evil. Yet assassinating him is the single most irresponsible action of the ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ Administration. Congress needs to act now to stop this descent into war with Iran


Today’s a day when the most untruthful administration in US history will wish its statements could be believed


Opinion: Trump must be thrilled to find someone as bad at history as he is


Iraq’s Oil Ministry has confirmed that “a number of employees with US citizenship” working for oil companies in southern Iraq would depart the country “in response to the request of their government.”


Soleimani was at the height of his power when he was taken out. But it's not the person you take out, it’s what they leave behind. Al Qaeda didn't end with the death of Bin Laden. ISIS didn't end with the death of Baghdadi. Critical to know strategy for next steps


A reminder this morning as we are asked to accept the statement of our Secretary of State, four months ago Pompeo tried to evade the nation about his participation in the Ukraine call before he was caught and forced to acknowledge he was on the phone.


GRAHAM on Fox & Friends: " I was briefed about the potential operation when i was down in florida. I appreciate being brought into the orbit. I really appreciate President Trump letting the world know you cannot kill an american without impunity."


Which will help make Russia and KSA untold Billions,at the expense of the American consumer. Trump works for the Kremlin,NOT for the American people,Trumps play in Iraq helps Putin and MBS,Sticking US with the bill


“Long in the making” means ample time to inform Congress - which Trump didn’t. Just as he didn’t tell Congress he blocked U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Now that you’ve got the strike you wanted against the general from Iran, are you ready to tell what you know about Ukraine?


This doesn’t make sense to me (or colleagues I’ve spoken with).👇 That’s a funding provision for $$ to foreign partners who support U.S. special forces. It is not a congressional authority for use of force.


Iraqi PM condemns U.S. killing of Iran's Soleimani: statement


NEW: The Latest developments in the Jeffrey Epstein case, including new lawsuit filed by Palm Beach woman abused as a 14-year-old.


Sunday trump Putin have a 5 hour secret call. 4 days later trump starts ww 3.


Trey Gowdy decides not to sign on to Trump’s impeachment legal team: ‘He doesn’t need another lawyer’


Highlights from the new Mueller FBI investigation documents - CNNPolitics


Good article on arguments that should absolutely carry the day. McGhann, the bell tolls for thee.


This is the problem when you have a President who lies virtually every time he opens his mouth: The world doesn’t believe him. So we don’t believe his Sec of State when he says Soleimani was plotting an attack.


Waiting for a 48-hour report under the War Powers Resolution on the #Soleimani strike. The WPR has its critiques, but the reporting provisions should force the Trump administration to identify a legal basis to Congress within 48 hours of the strike.


In the face of warnings from the Pentagon that the hold on military aid to Ukraine could be illegal, an official from the Office of Management and Budget made it clear that the order to keep the freeze in place came directly from Donald Trump


After a small initial gathering early this morning in Kerman, Qassem Soleimani's hometown, there is now a massive funeral crowd lining the streets, all wearing black


Americans told: Get out of Iraq immediately and don’t come to the U.S. embassy for help


Tens of thousands of people are rallying on the streets of Iranian capital Tehran following the US airstrike that killed Qasem Soleimani.


Two important appeals court cases are being argued today in DC: one about whether former White House counsel Don McGahn can be made to testify before Congress, the other about whether Congress can have access to Mueller grand jury material. Follow @shermancourt and me for updates


"We have a president who has had, really a failure in his Iranian policy, who’s had no larger strategic plan, and has made that region less stable and less safe, not only for Americans, but for other countries." - Sen. Cory Booker


Remember when North Korea tortured and killed an American student? I don't remember any assassination after that, do you?


Hong Kong's retail sales posted another double-digit decline as tourism plunged


Analysis: President Trump's strike on Iran General Suleimani jeopardizes vow to stop "endless wars"


"I pray with all of my heart that the Trump administration has a plan and a strategy, but all I’ve seen to date in their Iran policy is one-off actions, and this one-off action can have unbelievably horrific consequences." - Amb. Wendy Sherman


Five things to know about the 2020 census and how it impacts you


#Iraq: Due to heightened tensions in Iraq and the region, we urge U.S. citizens to depart Iraq immediately. Due to Iranian-backed militia attacks at the U.S. Embassy compound, all consular operations are suspended. U.S. citizens should not approach the Embassy.


U.S. farmers see another bleak year despite Phase 1 trade deal


#BREAKING: Brigadier General Esmaeil Qa'ani has been appointed by Iran's Leader as new chief of IRGC Quds Force


War. Is. A. Racket. Trump Putin MBS benefit from Iran proxy destabilization. This was planned. Trump and cronies should be arrested for #oil #crude market manipulation and fraud.


#BREAKING Britain urges 'all parties to de-escalate' after US kills Iran general


Brent jumps almost $3 after U.S. air strike on Baghdad airport


Experienced, well-informed, intellectually curious presidents staffed by the world’s top experts & advisers would have a hard time managing the fallout from Soleimani. We’ve got Trump, who attacks his own experts on Twitter, and listens to Jared, Ivanka, and Fox & Friends.


Today, Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to assassinate Iranian Gen. Qassem #Suleimani. It is a reckless escalation of hostilities with Iran and it is a war crime. Congress must call an emergency session and invoke its lawful authority under the War Powers Act.


experts and analysts have been chased away; positions are unfilled; military and security institutions are leaderless...


Meanwhile, Putin stops oil supply to Belarus


A look at the current fire map shows the whole continent of Australia ringed with flame. This is the driest continent on earth, and it is now being cooked by global warmin


My statement on the killing of Qassem Soleimani.— Joe Biden


#Breaking -- Pentagon statement in part announces: “At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force..."


Why did @realDonaldTrump's casinos consistently lose money? Because his main "business" was #MoneyLaundering, where his casinos lost, but his big-moneyed benefactor mobligarchs washed their dirty money clean


Iraqi PM condemns U.S. killing of Iran's Soleimani: statement


There’s literally a tweet for everything


Others more expert than I will comment on the immediate implications of killing Qasem Soleimani. My own thinking starts w/ the insanity of Trump abandoning the Iran nuclear deal and trying to make Iran knuckle under via crippling sanctions. Let’s remember how we got here.


Susan Collins sounds like she’s covering for Trump


Here’s why Donald Trump viewed a president starting war with Iran as a guaranteed path to re-election


JUST IN: U.S. embassy in Baghdad urges American citizens to depart Iraq immediately


Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei reacts to the killing of Qasem #Soleimani in U.S. strike: “Severe [r]evenge awaits the criminals who have stained their hands with his & the other martyrs’ blood”


For those wondering about the Russian reaction. Kosachev is very close to Putin.


That’s because Andrew Yang is phony opposition. His campaign is nothing more than a money laundromat for organized crime. Yang’s campaign manager is Tad Devine. Tad Devine worked with **PAUL MANAFORT to spread **PRO-YANUKOVYCH PROPAGANDA IN UKRAINE**


The Facebook billionaire has irked the locals with his heavy-handed ways, but the beautiful public beaches on his property can still be accessed by the hoi polloi.


Young people are going to have to vote in record numbers in order to put this madness to an end.


Reminder: All this is being done from his fucking own country club where he played golf and then ordered an Assassination. All while any yahoo with some gear from radio shack is listening in. Bravo, trumpbillies


Regardless of the long term strategic impact of tonight’s air strike, there will be a response from Iran and it will be ugly. The conflict between the US and Iran is now more dire than it has been since the hostages were released 40 years ago and there will be more blood spilled.


No one can claim to know with certainty what happens next. But the neocons thumping their chest tonight should recall that the worst mistakes global powers make are when they strike militarily in complicated places with few friends, with no consideration of the consequences.


Fmr. Amb. Wendy Sherman: "I pray with all of my heart that the Trump administration has a plan and a strategy, but all I have seen to date … is one-off actions and this one-off action can have unbelievably horrific consequences."


Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump on being the first impeached president to start a Hail Mary war from a golf club because he’s scared of losing.


Trump’s asinine need to reclaim a few news cycles may cost us countless lives.


THIS. “The Trump admin has built up the biggest backlog of unfunded toxic Superfund cleanup projects in at least 15 years, nearly triple the number that were stalled for lack of money in the Obama era.”


Two days ago.


As Ivanka Trump wonders whether she will keep working in the White House, we wonder why she was ever allowed to work there in the first place.


Good news! Eric Trump is still young enough to enlist!


Marco Rubio humiliating himself. Again. It is not a “stupid game” to demand all the facts. The *defendant* kept critical witnesses from testifying during the House investigation. He was indicted nonetheless. Now it’s time to see ALL the facts, @marcorubio.


Iran's Zarif says U.S. responsible for consequences of 'rogue adventurism'


Billboard threatens "Moscow Mitch" McConnell to impeach Trump or "lose your job" as he faces reelection in Kentucky


When the Dems win the White House in 2020, we need to make Kamala Harris the Attorney General and put her in a room with a bare light bulb and Sean Hannity. This is felony witness tamperin’ and obstruction of justice.


Court Docs unsealed on Friday: Maxwell took away a 15 yr old’s passport demanding sex. Butler testified: She was “distraught and shaking...literally quivering.” The distinct charm of the Trump/Epstein world. Note:Maxwell introduced Melania to Trump.


For those rightly expressing anxiety about Iraqi government ties to Iran, can you please express the same level of outrage about Trump's courtship of the Islamic Republic of Iran's most important ally -- Putin.


Call it what you will, but tonight Trump blindly plunged us into war. God help us all.


Biden: "Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox, and he owes the American people an explanation of the strategy and plan to keep safe our troops and embassy personnel, our people and our interests, both here at home & abroad, & our partners throughout the region."


Iranian diplomat sources say: Any prospect of negotiations with the US are finished. Talk is of revenge.


Trump once said only a 'weak and ineffective' president would try and start a war with Iran to get re-elected


Trump’s private decision to temporarily halt assistance to Ukraine ignited increasingly strident protests from officials who said in emails it was illegal and Congress should be notified, newly disclosed documents reveal.


Very unlikely. China will never get involved. Putin will condemn us, praise Iran, and then do nothing, but hope quietly for conflict that weakens the US and raises the price of oil.


"We need to presume we are now in a state of war with Iran… and that is not something that the Trump administration appears to have been prepared for." - Brett McGurk, former special envoy to coalition to defeat ISIS


Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison faced enraged hecklers in a town ravaged by bushfires, piling pressure on the leader amid an unprecedented crisis that has killed at least 18 people


Speaker Pelosi says President Trump carried out the U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian commander in Iraq without the consultation of Congress.


European stocks fall and investors are giving up riskier assets after a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad killed a top Iranian commander


“Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate...So the only way he figures he’s going to get reelected, and as sure as you’re sitting there, is to start a war with Iran.”


Iraq’s acting PM Adel Abdel-Mahdi says "the assassination of an Iraqi military commander is an aggression on Iraq as a state, government and people.” The commander was killed together with Iran’s Soleimani.


A senior Iraq militia leader says U.S. presence in the country must end


Greece, Israel and Cyprus call Turkey's planned Libya deployment 'dangerous escalation'


Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)