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6 Ways the Obama Administration railroaded the rule of law to destroy Michael Flynn

Krystina Skurk
The Federalist
Wed, 20 May 2020 00:00 UTC
Obama and Comey
© Flickr
The fact that the Obama administration targeted Flynn isn't just a crime against him, but a crime against our constitutional system.

In prosecuting Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Obama administration holdovers used the appointment of a special counsel to weaponize the legal system. After finding no evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia to influence the 2016 election, Robert Mueller's team had to justify continuing their investigation by going after Flynn for a crime even James Comey's FBI didn't believe he committed.

1. Unmasking and Leaking

The decision to prosecute Flynn was not the first nor the last affront to due process or the rule of law Flynn suffered at the hands of the Obama administration. Recently released documents from Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell reveal there were 49 requests to unmask Flynn's name in just two months, meaning attempts to reveal his identity in intercepted communications, particularly those between Flynn and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Comment: See also:

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Red Flag

Iranian Supreme Leader: Iran will support any nation that fights Israel


Sputnik
Wed, 20 May 2020 19:14 UTC
Iranian Supreme Leader
© AP Photo / Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader
Iran's Supreme Leader announced on Wednesday his country would "support and assist any nation or any group anywhere" in its struggles against Israel. His comments follow a Palestinian withdrawal from agreements with Israel over its proposed annexation of the West Bank.

"The Zionist regime has proven it won't abide by any treaty & understands no logic except force," Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei wrote in a Wednesday statement posted on Twitter as a series of tweets. "The nature of the Zionist regime is incompatible with peace, because the Zionists seek to expand their territories & will certainly not be limited to what they have already occupied."

"Eliminating the Zionist regime doesn't mean eliminating Jews. We aren't against Jews. It means abolishing the imposed regime & Muslim, Christian & Jewish Palestinians choose their own govt & expel thugs like Netanyahu. This is 'Eliminating Israel' & it will happen," the Shiite religious leader explained. "A proposal for a referendum to choose the type of govt for the historical country of #Palestine was registered with the UN as offered by Iran. We say the true Palestinians with Palestinian roots of at least 100 years, and Palestinians living abroad, choose the govt of Palestine."
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Bad Guys

DOJ: Democrats paid Pennsylvania election officials to stuff ballot box

John Binder
Breitbart
Thu, 21 May 2020 16:22 UTC
ballot box
© Reuters
A former Judge of Elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been charged and pleaded guilty to illegally adding votes for Democrat candidates in judicial races in 2014, 2015, and 2016.

On Thursday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against former Judge of Elections Domenick DeMuro, 73, for stuffing the ballot box for Democrats in exchange for payment by a paid political consultant.

The charges, and guilty plea, include conspiracy to deprive Philadelphia voters of their civil rights by fraudulently stuffing the ballot boxes for specific Democrat candidates in the 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections and a violation of the Travel Act.

"The Trump administration's prosecution of election fraud stands in stark contrast to the total failure of the Obama Justice Department to enforce these laws," Public Interest Legal Foundation President Christian Adams said in a statement. "Right now, other federal prosecutors are aware of cases of double voting in federal elections as well as noncitizen voting. Attorney General William Barr should prompt those other offices to do their duty and prosecute known election crimes."

As Judge of Elections, DeMuro was paid to oversee the election process in the 39th Ward, which encompasses Philadelphia.
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Snakes in Suits

Ukraine judge orders Joe Biden be listed as alleged perpetrator of crime in prosecutor's firing

John Solomon
Just the News
Fri, 22 May 2020 01:09 UTC
biden

Joe Biden lays out coronavirus plan.
Latest twist in Ukraine impeachment drama could stretch into Biden's fall campaign as fired prosecutor seeks legal remedy in courts.

The infamous story of Joe Biden's effort to force the firing of Ukraine's chief prosecutor in 2016 has taken a new legal twist in Kiev, just as the former vice president is sewing up the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in America.

In Kiev late last month, District Court Judge S. V. Vovk ordered the country's law enforcement services to formally list the fired prosecutor, Victor Shokin, as the victim of an alleged crime by the former U.S. vice president, according to an official English translation of the ruling obtained by Just the News.
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Bullseye

COVID naturally leads to corruption

Tim Kirby
Strategic Culture Foundation
Tue, 19 May 2020 20:21 UTC
cops face masks
© REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Anyone who has paid attention to history knows that political change requires some sort of catalyst to happen. So one could logically expect that the Covid-19 Pandemic would be the perfect excuse for politicians to take action. However, it takes time for the chemical reaction to start working its magic and only now are we starting to see some major actions being taken by Congress for our "benefit".

Patriot Act 2: the Revenge of Unconstitutionality

Interestingly enough, the Patriot Act is on its way to being reauthorized and naturally expanded while the nation is conveniently on lockdown. Very often the American Right will scream to the YouTube hills that the Constitution is being ripped in half by every move the other side makes. This over exaggeration has a "boy who cried wolf" effect making it seem cliché every time journalists/pundits rage over something being "unconstitutional". But this time dear friends, Congress is actually defecating on constitutional principles and Right Wing pundits are not over inflating this issue.
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Target

Canada, Trudeau and the coup attempt against Venezuela

Arnold August
Canadian Dimension
Wed, 13 May 2020 00:00 UTC
Venezuelan flag rally
© Socialist Appeal/Flickr
A protestor wrapped in a Venezuelan flag participates in a Hands Off Venezuela protest in London, January 29, 2019.
In the early hours of May 3, and then again on May 4, heavily armed mercenaries on speedboats attempted to enter Venezuela from Colombia. They were confronted by the Venezuelan armed forces, militia, police and local fisherman. Eight were killed in an ensuing shootout, while the others were arrested. Among those detained were two former United States Army Green Berets. Isolated pockets of the nearly 300 army deserters are still being rounded up at the time of writing.

One of the leaders of the failed coup attempt is Canadian-born Jordan Goudreau, a former US Marine who heads up a private Florida-based security firm called Silvercorps USA. While he did not participate directly in the raid, he did leave behind a video recorded in Colombia in which he and his Venezuelan military partner, ex-Venezuelan National Guard officer Javier Nieto, take credit for the attempted coup. The other two Americans captured also testified to their involvement. The confessions lead us through a labyrinth of corruption and shady deals, from Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó all the way up to Donald Trump.

The goal of the coup plotters was the capture and arrest of President Nicolás Maduro. A contract signed by Goudreau, Guaidó and his advisors including exiled lawmaker Sergio Vergara and Juan José Rendon confirm in black and white the plan to overthrow the Venezuelan government. Maduro has blamed Trump and the Colombian government for the chaos, but the US has so far denied any involvement.

Comment: Despite being the north border lackey to the US, what does Canada gain from advocating the removal of Maduro, the ongoing sanctions and support of war crimes? It belies its proclaimed penchant for peace, political respect and upholding the rights of a sovereign country. Given that, it wouldn't be the first Western country to fool its constituency by masking true intentions and actions via perception management.

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Document

Subpoena issued by US Senate committee in probe of Hunter Biden-Ukraine ties


RFE/RL
Thu, 21 May 2020 05:56 UTC
Joe/Hunter
© Andy Wong/EPA-EFE
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden
A Republican-led U.S. Senate committee has voted to subpoena documents for an investigation into Hunter Biden, son of former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted on May 20 along party lines to subpoena information from Blue Star Strategies, a lobby firm that worked with Burisma, a gas company in Ukraine that paid Hunter Biden to serve as a board member.

President Donald Trump was impeached on abuse-of-power and obstruction charges in the Democratic-led House of Representatives for improperly pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. The president was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Democrats accuse the Republicans of seeking the investigation in a bid to help Trump's reelection campaign.

Senator Ron Johnson (Republican-Wisconsin), chairman of the panel, has said the investigation is not designed to influence the presidential election. His colleague, Senator Rick Scott (Republican-Florida) said, "We need to get to the truth about the Bidens' relationship with Burisma. These hearings will provide the Senate with the full picture."
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Boat

Venezuelan military to provide escort for Iranian tankers delivering fuel


Sputnik
Wed, 20 May 2020 21:17 UTC
oil tanker
© AFP/Atta Kenare
Oil tanker • Port of Bandar Abbas, Southern Iran
Venezuela's military will escort Iranian tankers delivering fuel to the country when they enter Venezuela's exclusive economic zone, the country's Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino revealed Wednesday.

In a state television interview, Padrino said the escort would "welcome them in and thank the Iranian people for their solidarity and cooperation," Reuters reported. Padrino also said that the Venezuelan government had been in contact with Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami.

US sanctions on Venezuela have strangled the South American country's economy. In January, the country was forced to shut down its last oil refinery. Despite the fact that the primary export is petroleum, Venezuela is currently experiencing a fuel shortage.

Last Thursday, a US official said that the country believes with a "high degree of certainty" that Venezuela is paying Iran tons of gold in exchange for fuel. "It is not only unwelcome by the United States but it's unwelcome by the region, and we're looking at measures that can be taken," the official said, Reuters reported.

The official did not outline what measures are being considered but said that all options would be presented to US President Donald Trump.
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Brick Wall

Following failed coup attempt, US vetoes Russian UNSC proposal in support of Venezuela


RT
Thu, 21 May 2020 08:03 UTC
Venezuela flag/rally
© Global Look Press/dpa/Pedro Rances Mattey
The US has rejected a draft statement condemning terrorism and voicing support for Venezuela's sovereignty at the UN Security Council. The Russian-sponsored draft did not assign blame for the botched incursion.

The short statement was watered down to sound "politically neutral" in hopes it would not face any opposition from the UNSC members, the Russian mission to the United Nations said.

However, despite the text not even mentioning the recent boat incursion that led to the capture of two former US Green Berets, Washington did not give the document any chance, "killing" it "within 9 minutes" from the start of the voting process, according to Russia's first deputy envoy to the organization, Dmitry Polyanskiy.

The draft calls on UNSC member-states to "reject the use or threat of use of force," "terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations" as well as "the use of mercenaries."
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X

Nord Stream 2's complaint rejected by EU court to amend unfair gas transport rules instated by EU Gas Directive


RT
Thu, 21 May 2020 11:07 UTC
Nord Stream
© Nord Stream 2/Axel Schmidt
Nord Stream 2
The operator of Nord Stream 2 plans to challenge a ruling by the European Court of Justice that could see Russia's Gazprom losing partial control of the massive gas pipeline project it spent years and billions to develop.

The companies operating the gas links between Russia and Germany, Nord Stream AG and Nord Stream 2 AG, filed the complaint in November last year, seeking a partial annulment of the amendment to European gas transportation rules, known as the EU Gas Directive. The legislature requires that the rules governing the European gas market must apply to all pipelines to and from third countries, under which separate companies must produce and transport natural gas.

This would force Russia's Gazprom, which designed and paid for most of the project, to allow third parties to use half of the capacity of the pipeline after its launch at the end of this year. The Nord Stream 2 operators argued that the amended regulation would weaken the basis for funding of the project, which was launched long before the new EU rules came into force.

In its ruling on Wednesday, Europe's second highest court said that the companies' claims are "inadmissible," adding that the directive was for member states to implement. "Concerning both Nord Stream 2 AG and Nord Stream AG, the General Court finds that they are not directly concerned by the amending directive," the General Court of the European Union declared.
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