This activist group resurfaced videos of Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio talking about contempt of Congress — something in stark contrast with their current positions
The ANC is also in danger of losing its majority in the Gauteng province, the nation’s richest province, according to the projections from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the public broadcaster. The results threaten to dent President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ability to quell opposition in the faction-riven ANC and push through reforms needed to spur growth in Africa’s most-industrialized economy. The estimates, which are based on results released by the Independent Electoral Commission from 31.9% of voting districts, show the main opposition Democratic Alliance securing 22.7% support nationally, and the populist Economic Freedom Fighters 10.3%.
Donald Trump is questioning his administration’s aggressive strategy in Venezuela following the failure of a US-backed effort to oust Nicolás Maduro, complaining he was misled about how easy it would be to replace the socialist president with a young opposition figure, according to administration officials and White House advisers.The president’s dissatisfaction has crystallised around national security adviser John Bolton and what Mr Trump has groused is an interventionist stance at odds with his view that the United States should stay out of foreign quagmires.Mr Trump has said in recent days that Mr Bolton wants to get him “into a war” – a comment he has made in jest in the past but that now belies his more serious concerns, one senior administration official said.The administration’s policy is officially unchanged in the wake of a fizzled power play last week by US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó.But US officials have since been more cautious in their predictions of Mr Maduro’s swift exit, while re-assessing what one official described as the likelihood of a diplomatic “long haul”.US officials point to the president’s sustained commitment to the Venezuela issue, from the first weeks of his presidency as evidence that he holds a realistic view of the challenges there, and does not think there is a quick fix.But Mr Trump has nonetheless complained over the last week that Mr Bolton and others underestimated Mr Maduro, according to three senior administration officials who like others interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.Mr Trump has said Mr Maduro is a “tough cookie”, and that aides should not have led him to believe that the Venezuelan leader could be ousted last week, when Mr Guaidó led mass street protests that turned deadly.Instead, Mr Maduro rejected an offer to leave the country and two key figures in his government backed out of what Mr Bolton said had been a plan to defect.Mr Maduro publicly mocked Mr Trump in response and said he wasn’t going anywhere, saying the United States had attempted a “foolish” coup.Late on Wednesday, masked Venezuelan intelligence police detained National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano in a dramatic operation in Caracas, marking the first senior opposition official taken into custody by the socialist government in retaliation for the failed military uprising.Mr Zambrano is one of 10 opposition officials charged with treason, conspiracy and rebellion by the pro-Maduro Supreme Court in connection to the plot.Mr Bolton publicly revealed the defection plan to apply pressure to Mr Maduro, which US officials said has worked.They claim Mr Maduro is sleeping in a bunker, paranoid that close aides will turn on him.But Mr Trump has expressed concern that Mr Bolton has boxed him into a corner and gone beyond where he is comfortable, said a US official familiar with US-Venezuela policy.Mr Bolton’s tweets egging on Mr Maduro to begin an “early retirement” on a “nice beach” and urging for mass defections have been widely viewed as cavalier, raising unrealistic expectation for how quickly his ouster can be engineered, the US official said.Despite Mr Trump’s grumbling that Bolton had gotten him out on a limb on Venezuela, Mr Bolton’s job is safe, two senior administration officials said, and Mr Trump has told his national security adviser to keep focusing on Venezuela.The open threat of US military involvement in Venezuela has grown alongside the administration’s increasingly confrontational approach to Iran, with Mr Bolton announcing last weekend that a US aircraft carrier battle group would be deployed to counter Iranian plots to harm US forces in the Middle East.In both cases, the administration has adopted a get-tough policy that appeals to Mr Trump’s instincts to project American power abroad but that also echoes the kind of military adventurism he has long ridiculed.Mr Trump appears more comfortable with the Iran policy, which is grounded in his own strong belief that the former president, Barack Obama, miscalculated in striking a nuclear bargain with Tehran.He is less comfortable with the escalating rhetoric on Venezuela, which does not pose a direct military threat to the United States.Any US military involvement there risks a proxy fight with Russia, which backs Mr Maduro and has sold him arms.Mr Trump spoke approvingly of Russian actions in Venezuela following a lengthy phone call with Vladimir Putin on Friday, saying the Russian president “is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela other than he’d like to see something positive happen for Venezuela. And I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid”.His comments stood in contrast to earlier statements from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mr Bolton, who accused Russia of propping up Mr Maduro with money and military equipment.During the Putin call, Mr Trump expressed his concern about the security and humanitarian situation on the ground in Venezuela, said a person briefed on the call.Mr Putin agreed with Mr Trump’s assessment but said that the US position has solidified Mr Maduro’s grip on power in Venezuela.Mr Putin also told Mr Trump that Moscow was not selling new weapons to Venezuela but maintaining existing contracts and he downplayed Russia’s financial investments in the country.The events of 30 April have effectively shelved serious discussion of a heavy US military response, current and former officials as well as outside advisers said.Rather, US officials think time is on their side and that Mr Maduro will fall of his own weight.That waiting game poses its own risk, however, if Mr Guaidó asks for US military assistance.Mike Pompeo brushed off criticism from Jeremy Corbyn about US “interference” in Venezuela during an interview Wednesday in London.“Providing food to starving children isn’t interference. It’s support; it’s what we do,” Mr Pompeo said.“It’s in our deepest traditions of humanitarian assistance. The interference has taken place; the Cubans are there. They’ve interfered. So I hope Mr Corbyn will ask the Cubans to cease their interference in Venezuela.”Vice President Mike Pence was measured in his threats to Mr Maduro during remarks at a gathering of Latin American leaders in Washington on Tuesday, saying that “Maduro must go,” but also signalling that it might not happen quickly.Mr Pence announced deployment of a Navy hospital ship to the region in June, and said the United States would lift sanctions on one senior Maduro aide who had switched sides.That was a shift from previous rhetoric about the tightening yoke of sanctions, and meant to emphasise that there are carrots in the US policy as well as sticks, one senior official said.The famously hawkish Mr Bolton has been the loudest voice within the administration in support of a potential military response to the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, where escalating US sanctions have not forced Mr Maduro to cede power.He was not the first, however.Mr Trump mused about invading or bombing Venezuela last year, comments that were at first dismissed as fanciful.He is now not inclined to have any sort of military intervention in Venezuela, two officials and an outside adviser said.Mr Trump has, in Oval Office meetings and phone calls with advisers, questioned his administration providing such strong support of Mr Guaidó.Some White House officials said Mr Trump likes the charismatic leader, whom he has called courageous, but has wondered aloud whether he is ready to take over and about how much the administration really knows about him.Mr Guaidó’s many supporters within the administration say he has proved himself as the first Venezuelan opposition leader to unite factions and pose a credible threat to Mr Maduro.His standing within the country is borne out by the fact that Mr Maduro has not seized or harmed him, fearing a backlash, some officials said.Senator Lindsey Graham said he has no concern that the United States is making a bad bet on Mr Guaidó.“Oh God, no. Smart money,” Mr Graham said. “I think he’s the future of Venezuela. He’s young, he’s the solution – not the problem.”Mr Graham also said Mr Trump has been well served by his advisers, including Mr Bolton.Mr Pompeo was also bullish about Mr Maduro’s ouster last week, saying after the plan faltered that Mr Maduro had been heading to the airport before Russian advisers talked him out of leaving. Mr Maduro denied it.Senator Marco Rubio, who has been influential in shaping the administration’s Venezuela response, said Mr Trump and Mr Bolton are on the same page.Mr Rubio, who said he spoke to Mr Trump about Venezuela on Tuesday evening, backs the policy of waiting out Mr Maduro.“He’s in the same mind-set that I’m in, and that is that we’ve got to stay the course, it’s working,” Mr Rubio said in an interview.Mr Rubio said some of the harshest US sanctions are only now having full effect, including sowing dissension among Mr Maduro's aides.“Only now are you starting to see it burn and I think that’s what’s causing some of this internal friction in the regime.”US defence leaders regard any military scenario involving boots on the ground in Venezuela as a quagmire, and warn that standoff weapons such as Tomahawk missiles run a major risk of killing civilians.The White House has repeatedly asked for military planning short of invasion, however.Officials said the options under discussion while Mr Maduro is still in power include sending additional military assets to the region, increasing aid to neighbouring countries such as Colombia, and other steps to provide humanitarian assistance to displaced Venezuelans outside of Venezuela.More forward-leaning options include sending naval ships to waters off Venezuela as a show of force.Other steps under discussion are intended for after Mr Maduro is gone, when US military personnel might be permitted inside Venezuela to help with humanitarian responses.John Feeley, a former US ambassador and Univision political analyst, said there is another reason that military intervention is unlikely.“It runs counter to Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election narrative. At a time when you’re pulling people back from Syria, back from Iraq, back from Afghanistan, how do you say we’re going to commit 50-, 100-, 150,000 of our blood and treasure to a country where you can’t tell the bad guys from the good guys?” Mr Feeley said.The Washington Post
A Chinese court adjourned a hearing on a Canadian man's appeal against his death sentence for drug smuggling without a decision Thursday in a case that has deepened a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Ottawa. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, was sentenced to death in January after a court deemed his previous 15-year prison sentence too lenient. The Liaoning High People's Court in northeast China said in a statement that "all procedural rights of appellant Schellenberg were guaranteed in accordance with the law".
Former FBI director James Comey conceded Thursday night that former FBI agent Peter Strzok and his mistress, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, damaged the Bureau's reputation through their political partisanship.Strzok and Page have been publicly excoriated by Republicans and allies of President Trump ever since the release of anti-Trump text messages they exchanged while they were working on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team.“Considering the high standards that we set for law enforcement, what do you think should have been the consequences for Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Andrew McCabe?” an audience member asked Comey during a CNN townhall Thursday night.“I think, given the standards that we have — especially we in the FBI have — there should have been, and was, severe discipline around their behavior,” said Comey. “As [CNN host] Anderson [Cooper] said, very different episodes of behavior. Everyone has opinions — about political issues, about religious issues, and sports issues. You can’t bring them to work and have them affect your work. There have to be severe consequences. FBI employees must tell the truth, always. And if they don't, I don't care what it's about, it's going to be investigated and there's going to be severe consequences.”Comey went on to explain that he was unaware of the bias exhibited by Strzok and Page at the time Strzok was serving as the lead investigator of Russian interference in the election, but admitted that the revelations about Strzok and Page's hostility toward Trump damaged the FBI's credibility.“So, do you acknowledge that this whole episode with Strzok and Page, that it damaged the reputation of the FBI and that it perhaps tarnished the investigation?” asked Cooper.“Definitely,” said Comey. “Yeah. Very painful. It was important that it be investigated, and important that there be discipline that follows it. But yeah, it made us all look bad.”Republicans have focused specifically on one text exchange in which Strzok and Page discuss deploying an "insurance policy" in the event that Trump wins the election. Page confirmed in a House Judiciary Committee hearing in July 2018 that the "insurance policy" referred to the counterintelligence investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, which Strzok was overseeing.Comey, who has forcefully defended the intelligence community's decision to investigate the Trump campaign, concluded by praising Strzok as a “very talented agent.”Attorney General William Barr told lawmakers last month that he is investigating whether the counterintelligence investigation, which Strzok approved, was motivated by political bias — an allegation that Comey and others involved in the process have strenuously denied.
Days after calling for the end of the “Groundhog Day spectacle” of Trump investigations, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reassured a fraught Sean Hannity on Thursday night that Senate Intelligence Committee chair Richard Burr’s (R-NC) subpoena of Donald Trump Jr. was no big deal.Noting that McConnell had declared “case closed” on the Mueller report, Hannity wondered why Burr would subpoena the president’s son to reappear before the intelligence committee.Turning to McConnell, the pro-Trump Fox News host stated that the majority leader had already said that it was time to “stop relitigating” the 2016 election and “move forward” for the American public.“I agree with all of that,” Hannity added. “What is Senator Burr doing, did he not hear your message?”Apparently hoping to calm the conservative primetime star down, the Kentucky lawmaker said the “good news” is that Burr has “already indicated that the committee will find no collusion,” staying consistent with the findings of the Mueller Report (which, by the way, did not make a determination on collusion as it has no legal definition.)“I think that this is going to have a happy ending,” McConnell continued. “I understand the president’s frustration here. But I think that this is just a blip, I think that the case is closed. I think that the controversy has been concluded.”After McConnell said it was time for the House to “let it go and move on,” Hannity asked him if that was his “message to Senator Burr.”“That is my message to the public, that is our view that the case is closed and it is time to move on,” McConnell responded. “And I believe when the Senate Intelligence Committee finally does report, which I think will not be too far down the road from here, they will reach the very same conclusion.”Read more at The Daily Beast.
U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said lawmakers may bundle numerous contempt citations from different committees into a single resolution that the full House of Representatives could then vote on. "There obviously are going to have to be, perhaps from our committee and certainly from other committees, other contempt citations to enforce subpoenas," Nadler told reporters.
The former director of the FBI has said he believes Donald Trump would face charges for evidence laid out in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election – were he not the president of the United States. James Comey pointed to the numerous examples of possible obstruction of justice on the part of the president outlined in the special counsel’s report, which described Russia’s “sweeping and systematic” interference in the election that sent Mr Trump to the White House. “There are a whole lot of facts in Bob Mueller’s report that raise serious questions about whether there’s a chargeable case for obstruction and witness tampering against this president,” Mr Comey, who was fired by Mr Trump in 2017, said in a CNN town hall on Thursday night. He then pointed to two key examples of the president’s alleged obstruction of justice: when Mr Trump ordered former White House counsel Don McGahn to fire the special counsel, as well as when he attempted to severely the limit the scope of the investigation into only future elections. “The direction to Don McGahn to get the special counsel fired is to my mind a flaming example of corrupt intent,” Mr Comey said. According to the former FBI director, both instances serve as “examples that any reasonable prosecutor would charge.” His comments arrived as more than 800 former federal prosecutors signed a public letter that said Mr Trump would face charges over obstruction of justice throughout Mr Mueller’s investigation were he not to have won the election. Democrats on Capitol Hill have issued subpoenas for the unredacted Mueller report and its underlying evidence, meanwhile, as the president has attempted to invoke executive privilege after lawmakers moved to hold his attorney general in contempt of Congress for failing to supply the full report. Mr Comey went on to say he believed it was possible the Russians had some form of leverage over the president. “Do you think the Russians have leverage over President Trump?” CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked the former FBI director. “I don’t know the answer to that,” he responded. “Think it’s possible?” The reporter asked. “Yes,” Mr Comey immediately replied.
In the latest salvo of a political battle widely expected to end in federal court, Neal issued separate subpoenas to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig that seek six years of Trump's individual and business tax returns. Trump is stonewalling oversight investigations by Neal and five other Democratic committee chairs in the House of Representatives, prompting Democrats to warn Trump officials that they could face contempt citations along with heavy fines and even impeachment by defying congressional subpoenas. The Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee voted to recommend a contempt of Congress citation against Attorney General William Barr this week after he defied a subpoena seeking the unredacted report on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
Seventy countries urged North Korea on Friday to scrap its nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and related programs, decrying the "undiminished threat" posed to world peace. Signatories included the United States and South Korea, as well as nations in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe. Russia and China, supporters of Pyongyang, did not sign the document drafted by France.
Venezuela braced Saturday for another day of nationwide protests after President Nicolas Maduro clamped down further on opposition leader Juan Guaido, locking up his deputy in a military prison following a dramatic arrest. Edgar Zambrano, deputy speaker of the opposition-majority National Assembly, is being held in preventive detention for "the flagrant commission of the crimes of treason, conspiracy and civil rebellion," the Supreme Court said in a statement announcing the verdict of a lower court. Zambrano was arrested by Maduro's SEBIN intelligence service in dramatic circumstances on Wednesday for supporting the April 30 revolt organized by US-backed Guaido.
Over the weekend, the White House announced it was sending an aircraft-carrier strike group and bombers to the Middle East in response to “troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” related to Iran. These warnings reportedly were Israeli intelligence reports indicating Iran was planning attacks against U.S. personnel and allies in the Middle East.Press reports differed on the nature of the planned Iranian attacks. There were reports that Iranian officials gave a green light to its terrorist proxies to attack U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Syria. Other reports said Iran planned to orchestrate drone attacks in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. There also was a report that Iran had moved short-range ballistic missiles by boat in waters off its shores.There has been speculation that Iran was planning these attacks in retaliation for damage done to the Iranian economy by sanctions the U.S. reimposed after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA). These attacks may also have been planned in response to the Trump administration’s recent designation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization.President Trump’s critics are claiming that a surge in tensions with Iran in response to his withdrawal from the JCPOA prove the U.S. withdrawal from this agreement was a mistake and increased the threat from Iran. But the facts suggest otherwise. Iran is desperately trying to reverse the effects of President Trump’s successful Iran policy, known as the maximum-pressure strategy.The Trump administration recently toughened its sanctions against Iran. Last month it ended exemptions to oil sanctions. Nuclear sanctions also have been strengthened, including a demand that Iran cease uranium enrichment. Yesterday, the Trump administration extended U.S. sanctions on Iran’s steel, aluminum, copper and iron sectors.The Obama administration told the American people that the JCPOA would improve relations with Iran and bring it into the international community. However, Iran’s behavior actually worsened after the JCPOA, especially with its decision to send troops to Syria. President Trump decided not to rely on the weak nuclear deal to restrain Iranian behavior and protect American interests in the region. Reminiscent of President Reagan’s “Peace through Strength” dictum, the deployment of military forces is a show of U.S. force to prevent hostilities, not to start a war with Iran.In addition, although European governments still oppose President Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA and new U.S. sanctions against Iran, European corporations are honoring U.S. sanctions and have left Iran in droves, including Air France, British Airways, KLM, Total, Siemens, and Volkswagen.Iranian president Hassan Rouhani announced yesterday that in response to European companies' cooperating with reimposed U.S. sanctions, Iran will soon violate elements of the JCPOA by increasing its stockpiles of enriched uranium and heavy water, which is needed for a plutonium-producing reactor. Rouhani also said Iran would increase uranium enrichment above the limit of 3.67 percent enriched uranium set by the JCPOA if European firms do not cease honoring U.S. sanctions. Rouhani’s threats to withdraw from the nuclear deal probably will further dissuade European companies from doing business in Iran.Rouhani’s threats to partially withdraw from the JCPOA will have a negligible effect on Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons because the agreement is so weak. The nuclear deal already allows Iran to pursue nuclear-weapons-related activities, permitting it to enrich uranium with 5,000 centrifuge machines while the agreement is in effect. Its inspection provisions are likewise very weak and Iran has violated them by not permitting inspections of military sites. Iran also has refused to fully account for its past nuclear-weapons work.Israeli intelligence discovered last year from a trove of Iranian documents (the “Iran nuclear archive”) the existence of a secret atomic warehouse in Tehran that may have contained 300 tons of equipment and 15 kilograms of radioactive material. Rouhani’s threats are therefore absurd because he is threatening to withdraw from an ineffective nuclear agreement that Iran is already cheating on.Iran’s attempt to blackmail Europe over President Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA is also likely to backfire. An EU statement issued today said “We reject any ultimatums and we will assess Iran’s compliance on the basis of Iran’s performance regarding its nuclear-related commitments.” Rouhani’s ultimatum will alienate European leaders who were already concerned about Iran’s belligerent behavior, including its troop presence in Syria, meddling in Iraq and Yemen, and sponsorship of terrorism.In response to Iranian assassination squads operating in Europe to kill Iranian dissidents, the European Union imposed sanctions on Iran in January 2019, the first EU sanctions since the JCPOA was implemented. The EU is also considering sanctioning Iran over its ballistic-missile tests. Rouhani’s blackmail threat and new reports that Iran is planning attacks against U.S. interests in the Middle East could push Europe closer to the Trump administration.Iran’s recent threats and alleged plans to attack U.S. interests reflect the success of President Trump’s maximum-pressure strategy on Iran. U.S. sanctions have isolated Iran and deprived its ruling mullahs of funds to spend on the military, terrorism, and meddling in regional disputes. The sanctions also have caused Iran’s oil exports to drop to about 1.3 million barrels a day, down from 2.8 million before the U.S. left the JCPOA. Iran’s oil exports probably will drop much further due to the Trump administration’s recent decision to end all exemptions to U.S. oil sanctions. Iran’s economy is expected to shrink by 6 percent in 2019 after having shrunk 3.9 percent in 2018. Inflation could reach 50 percent this year.At the same time, President Trump remains open to dialogue with Iranian leaders. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a list of twelve U.S. requirements for a new agreement with Iran on nuclear and regional issues in a May 2018 speech at the Heritage Foundation. So far, Iranian officials have shown no interest in dialogue with the U.S. and are sticking to hostile rhetoric to divide and threaten America.While a new agreement that addresses the full range of threats from Iran is not on the horizon, the current maximum-pressure strategy has yielded many important achievements, including delegitimizing Iran’s nuclear program, strengthening America’s relationships with Israel and the Gulf states, and repairing the damage done to these relationships by the Obama administration. President Trump’s Iran policy has also revived longstanding U.S. policies to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles worldwide.The bottom line: terrorist and blackmail threats from Iran are not going to save Obama’s fraudulent nuclear deal or deter the U.S. from standing up to Iran’s ruling mullahs.