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Category: Politics

Trump’s Justice Department on ‘deep state’ crusade targeting the CIA

Trump’s Justice Department on ‘deep state’ crusade targeting the CIA

The New York Times reports: Trump administration officials investigating the government’s response to Russia’s election interference in 2016 appear to be hunting for a basis to accuse Obama-era intelligence officials of hiding evidence or manipulating analysis about Moscow’s covert operation, according to people familiar with aspects of the inquiry. Since his election, President Trump has attacked the intelligence agencies that concluded that Russia secretly tried to help him win, fostering a narrative that they sought to delegitimize his victory. He…

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Trump’s greatest vulnerability is the economy – just ask poor Americans

Trump’s greatest vulnerability is the economy – just ask poor Americans

Reverend William Barber writes: Rather than offer a report on the State of the Union, Donald Trump used his annual primetime slot in the House of Representatives to host a re-election rally. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, summed up the sentiment of the House majority when she stood behind Trump and ripped the text of his speech in half. “I tore up a manifesto of mistruths,” she later said. But of all the lies he told, the president is proudest…

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During coronavirus epidemic, Trump proposes slashing budget for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

During coronavirus epidemic, Trump proposes slashing budget for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ars Technica reports: Amid an explosive outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China that has killed over 1,000 and sickened over 43,000 worldwide, US President Donald Trump proposed a nearly 19 percent budget cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—the agency primarily tasked with preparing for and responding to such outbreaks and other serious health threats. In the president’s proposed 2021 federal budget released Monday, the administration says that the changes to the CDC’s funding are intended to…

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A conservative judge’s blistering opinion rebuking William Barr for overstepping his constitutional authority

A conservative judge’s blistering opinion rebuking William Barr for overstepping his constitutional authority

Kimberly Wehle writes: President Donald Trump has defanged Congress’ oversight authority. That became clear when the Senate acquitted the president of obstruction. But one conservative judge isn’t willing to let the executive branch steal power from his branch of government. In a jaw-dropping opinion issued by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on January 23, Judge Frank Easterbrook—a longtime speaker for the conservative Federalist Society and someone whom the late Justice Antonin Scalia favored to replace him…

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Trump fires Defense official because she attempted to follow the law

Trump fires Defense official because she attempted to follow the law

Jonathan Chait writes: Two days after Senate Republicans acquitted President Trump on both counts of impeachment, the Trump administration fired a number of national-security officials: European Union ambassador Gordon Sondland and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council staffer, for voluntarily testifying before the House, as well as the latter’s twin brother, Lieutenant Colonel Yevgeny Vindman, for being related to Alexander. Now, the “Friday Night Massacre” is extending into this week. The New York Post reports that the administration…

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UK could ban sale of combustion-engine powered cars in 12 years, says transport minister

UK could ban sale of combustion-engine powered cars in 12 years, says transport minister

The Guardian reports: The government could ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars in 2032, three years earlier than previously suggested, the transport secretary has said. A consultation launched last week suggested all cars with internal combustion engines could be banned from 2035 but Grant Shapps told BBC radio on Wednesday the ban could come within 12 years. The ban would happen by 2035 – or even 2032, subject to consultation, he said. The comments will add to the…

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Experts worry as a germ-phobic Trump confronts growing coronavirus epidemic

Experts worry as a germ-phobic Trump confronts growing coronavirus epidemic

The New York Times reports: When an outbreak of the Ebola virus touched the United States’ shores in mid-2014, Donald J. Trump was still a private citizen. But he had strong opinions about how America should act. Mr. Trump, who has spoken openly about his phobia of germs, closely followed the epidemic, and offered angry commentary about what he said was the Obama administration’s dangerous response. He demanded draconian measures like canceling flights, forcing quarantines and even denying the return…

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Prosecutors quit case after DOJ says it will cut Roger Stone’s recommended prison sentence

Prosecutors quit case after DOJ says it will cut Roger Stone’s recommended prison sentence

CNBC reports: Three federal prosecutors in the criminal case against Republican operative Roger Stone dramatically quit the case Tuesday shortly after the Department of Justice said it will force prosecutors to cut their recommendation that the longtime ally of President Donald Trump serve as long as nine years in prison. Jonathan Kravis, who delivered the closing argument at Stone’s trial last fall, resigned as an assistant U.S. Attorney, according to a court filing Tuesday in Washington, D.C., federal court. Kravis,…

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Russians think triumphant Trump is more their man than ever

Russians think triumphant Trump is more their man than ever

Julia Davis writes: Russian state media have welcomed enthusiastically the recent U.S. Senate acquittal of President Donald J. Trump. Having predicted this outcome for his impeachment trial, Russian experts and state-media pundits are anticipating beneficial side effects for the Kremlin as Trump is more Trump—and more Russia’s Trump—than ever. Dmitry Kiselyov, the host of Russia’s popular Sunday news program Vesti Nedeli, said, “Democrats are openly raging, but while they’re licking their wounds, Trump can now objectively afford to pursue a…

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Trump proposes 25 percent drop in fund designed to deter Russia

Trump proposes 25 percent drop in fund designed to deter Russia

U.S. News & World Report reports: President Donald Trump has proposed a 25 percent cut to the signature military fund designed to offset Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, according to the Defense Department’s budget documents unveiled Monday. Budget proposals for fiscal 2021 released Monday afternoon call for $4.5 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative, a fund started by the Obama administration in the aftermath of Russia’s 2014 invasion of parts of eastern Ukraine and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, which…

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For decades, the CIA read the encrypted communications of allies and adversaries

For decades, the CIA read the encrypted communications of allies and adversaries

The Washington Post reports: For more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret. The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II. Flush with cash, it became a dominant maker of encryption devices for decades, navigating waves of technology from mechanical gears to electronic circuits and, finally, silicon chips and…

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Bernie’s secret weapon

Bernie’s secret weapon

Russell Berman writes: If Senator Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday, it’ll likely be thanks to voters who are—like him—not actually Democrats. The Vermont senator’s lead in several public polls is bolstered by his strong support among independent, or undeclared, voters, who are welcome to participate in New Hampshire’s primary and could make up as much as 40 percent of the electorate. Beyond New Hampshire, Sanders’s advantage among independent voters could be his secret weapon…

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Virus epidemic rocks China’s political elite

Virus epidemic rocks China’s political elite

Asia Times reports: Deserted streets, eerily quiet shopping malls and empty buses. For most people, this evokes images of quarantined Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. But, in fact, this is Beijing, home to the ruling Communist Party elite, the Great Hall of the People and the iconic yet infamous Tiananmen Square. “It is a ghost city, hardly any people out and very few vehicles. Six buses passed me today and, with the exception of the drivers, they were…

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We might have to impeach Trump again

We might have to impeach Trump again

George T. Conway III writes: “So we’ll probably have to do it again.” So said the already-once-impeached President Trump on Thursday in the East Room, musing about the possibility he could become the first president to be impeached more than once. And on the very next day, as though he were competing for it, Trump showed precisely why he could be destined to achieve that ignominious fate. With essentially no pretense about why he was doing it, the president brazenly…

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War in the Arctic?

War in the Arctic?

Michael T. Klare writes: In early March, an estimated 7,500 American combat troops will travel to Norway to join thousands of soldiers from other NATO countries in a massive mock battle with imagined invading forces from Russia. In this futuristic simulated engagement — it goes by the name of Exercise Cold Response 2020 — allied forces will “conduct multinational joint exercises with a high-intensity combat scenario in demanding winter conditions,” or so claims the Norwegian military anyway. At first glance,…

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This election shows Ireland has moved on from Sinn Féin’s past

This election shows Ireland has moved on from Sinn Féin’s past

Siobhán Fenton writes: For almost a century, political power in Ireland has been held by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The two centrist parties have ruled in some form or another, be it through coalitions or confidence-and-supply arrangements with other smaller parties. Saturday’s general election has upended this political duopoly. Sinn Féin topped the poll in first-preference votes for the first time, with a share of 24.5%. Fianna Fáil received 22.2%, while Fine Gael, in government since 2011, came third…

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