Overnight thread – Long video but worth watching if you have time.
Judicial Watch hosted a panel at its headquarters discussing Hillary Clinton’s email scandal with Joseph E. diGenova (Founding Partner, diGenova & Toensing, LLP), Daniel J. Metcalfe (Adjunct Professor of Law, American University), and Paul Orfanedes (Director of Litigation, Judicial Watch). Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch’s president, moderator.
From Lausanne: At 1:37AM, Secretary Kerry ends meeting with French and German Foreign Ministers; resumes US-EU talks with Iran.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) April 1, 2015
…US Secretary of State John Kerry postponed his departure from the talks for a second time and will remain through Thursday morning, the State Department said
Switzerland – French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is leaving the marathon negotiations that have gone into overtime led by the United States between world powers and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear technology activities.
A French official told France 24 today (Wednesday, April 1) that Fabius was leaving the talks and would return from France when it was “useful.”
Speaking at a joint news conference with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, French President Francois Hollande said it would be better to have no deal than a bad deal – the same opinion expressed last month by Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu while speaking to the U.S. Congress. (more…)
Democrat Senator Bob Menendez was one of the more openly public critics of the Obama administration’s acquiescence toward Iran gaining a nuclear weapon.
The negotiations are at a critical point. Growing numbers of both Democrats and Republicans are openly criticizing the Obama/Kerry weak and inept diplomatic stumbling toward an agreement that IS NOT in the national interests of the U.S. or Allies.
How do Denis McDonough, Ben Rhodes, Valerie Jarrett and Tony Blinkin remove the oxygen from the media firestorm of criticism. Why, via Eric Holder of course.
WASHINGTON DC – Sen. Bob Menendez has been charged with using his office to improperly benefit a Florida eye doctor and political donor.
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted the New Jersey Democrat on charges including conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud.
As you read the following media report it is important to remember: ♦ Hillary Clinton has previously stated, unequivocally, that no classified communication traveled through her self-created personal communication network.
So what exactly is there to review? Either the U.S. government believes the statements by the Secretary of State to be true, or they do not.
Second, ♦ the government knowingly allowed the secret communication network to exist and allowed all the construction issues therein to take place. Therefore the burden of any administrative compliance issue should reside upon them to reconcile expeditiously.
(The Washington Times) The Obama administration told a federal court Monday that it needs “several months” more to go through former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s government emails, saying it’s proving time-consuming to sort out exactly what information they can release to the public,
Justice Department lawyers also bristled at accusations that the government perpetrated a fraud by hiding the existence of the emails, as Mr. Obama’s team begins to fully grapple with the legal complications Mrs. Clinton has left them. (more…)
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program have been extended until Wednesday, the State Department said Tuesday.
Iran nuke talks to continue tomorrow. "We've made enough progress in the last days to merit staying until Wednesday," says @marieharf
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 31, 2015
"There are several difficult issues still remaining," says Harf in announcing extension of tonight's Iran nuke talks deadline.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 31, 2015
A few hours before the self-imposed midnight Tuesday deadline ran out, State Department acting Spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters, ”We’ve made enough progress in the last days to merit staying until Wednesday. There are several difficult issues still remaining.” (more…)
As we have outlined (with considerable criticism) over the past year, the only substantive inquiry into the Benghazi scandal will have to be held in non-public settings. When you dig into the substance, and avoid the political aspects, everything that matters regarding the Benghazi fiasco is covered under U.S. national security protections.
There is little of value available to discuss in public hearings. If you understand the Benghazi Brief you understand why.
The CIA and the State Department were conducting a joint covert operation labeled “Zero Footprint” in Libya. That operation was expanded into Syria after Panetta left the CIA. The congressional intelligence oversight known as the Gang of Eight were fully briefed.
Hence, if House Select Committee Chair Trey Gowdy wants to discuss email use, or communication methods therein, during the tenure of Clinton and Panetta, around Operation Zero Footprint, Gowdy has to make those inquiries in private.
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House select committee investigating the Benghazi attacks asked Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday to appear for a private interview about her exclusive use of a personal email account when she was secretary of state.
“The committee believes a transcribed interview would best protect Secretary Clinton’s privacy, the security of the information queried, and the public’s interest in ensuring this committee has all information needed to accomplish the task set before it,” the chairman, Trey Gowdy, Republican of South Carolina, said in a letter sent Tuesday morning. (more…)
Hillary Clinton said the construct of her secret communication network was specifically because she only wanted to carry one device – obviously she lied right out of the gate.
The Associated Press has gained a total of FOUR emails from a FOIA request regarding correspondence between Hillary Clinton and her personal aide Huma Abedin search term “drone strikes”.
The emails show the Clinton led U.S. State Department focused an inordinate amount of time and energy discussing articles written by the media. It would appear at least a substantive portion of time in/around the State Dept was spent reviewing what reporters were writing about U.S. foreign policy outcomes.
One of the emails (Sept 18th 2011 – last in the pdf below) shows Hillary answering a question about floral arrangements amid a chain email discussing Pakistan’s efforts to battle the Taliban. Ms. Abedin responds curiously. (more…)
From within a generally well constructed New York Times article the new Mid-East normal begins to surface. The vacuum left in the wake of Obama’s policies are leading to alignments of self interest….. And as a direct consequence a nuclear arms race.
New York Times […] Through Egypt, a major beneficiary of Saudi aid, the kingdom is backing plans for a combined Arab military force to combat Iranian influence around the region. With another major aid recipient, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia is also expected to step up its efforts to develop a nuclear bomb, potentially setting off an arms race in the region.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, left, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, center, and the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, on Monday in Lausanne, Switzerland.
All this comes just a few weeks after the death of King Abdullah and the passing of the throne to a new ruler, King Salaman, who then installed his 34-year-old son Mohamed in the powerful dual roles of defense minister and chief of the royal court. (more…)
It is interesting, and not incidental, to see CNNi (CNN International) lead the shift in leftist talking points about Egyptian President Fattah el-Sisi by focusing on their collectivist opinion that el-Sisi is “a hardliner”.
However, actions -what CNN would like to avoid- of Sisi speak louder than the CNN words. Sisi has shown over the past two years his willingness to insure minority protections within Egypt yet he has simultaneously taken a zero tolerance position toward Islamic extremism.
The Muslim Brotherhood, as a political construct, is the extremist bane of all mid-East moderates. The Muslim Brotherhood is essentially the larger construct within ISIS; and yet the Muslim Brotherhood is discussed on leftist news media as if they are not a terrorist entity.
Because of the frequency and scope of this specific media narrative it simply cannot be coincidental; someone is driving this false narrative.
CAIRO (AP) – Arab League member nations formally announced on Sunday an agreement to form a joint military force. While details of how such a force would actually operate remain thin, the agreement is a telling sign of a new determination among Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their allies to intervene aggressively in regional hotspots, whether against Islamic militants or Iran-backed groups.