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John Kelly revives feud with 'Javanka'; says Trump's family needs to be 'dealt with'

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Thu, 09 May 2019 08:00 UTC
John Kelly
John Kelly has had a few months to reflect on his tumultuous tenure as White House Chief of Staff. And though he's apparently forgiven the president for the angry tweets and public rebukes, which helped fuel persistent rumors about his impending firing, the former general still holds a grudge against his former West Wing antagonist: Javanka.

Those who have been following the Trump administration drama since the beginning might remember that, after initially welcoming Kelly as a "steady hand" and "adult in the room" who would bring order to a chaotic West Wing, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump swiftly turned on the former general, and their months-long power struggle become fodder for endless anonymously sourced reports and reprisals.

That feud apparently left a bad taste in Kelly's mouth that just won't go away. Which is probably why, five months after being 'liberated' from the West Wing, Kelly felt comfortable publicly expressing his distaste for the two - in his own reserved way, not mentioning the couple by name - Trump Administration senior advisors during an interview with David Rubenstein on Bloomberg TV.

Kelly told Rubenstein that members of the Trump family serving in the administration needed to be "dealt with" - even if Kelly wasn't the one to do it.

Comment: Previously:

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Smoking

Sen. Mitch McConnell wants to raise age to buy tobacco products

Elizabeth Thomas
ABC News
Fri, 10 May 2019 12:15 UTC
Smoking
© Getty Images
Sen. Mitch McConnell is pushing to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21 and said to expect legislation on this "top priority" for later this month.

The Senate majority leader hails from the state of Kentucky, the nation's second-largest tobacco producer, and he said that he was prompted to raise the legal age of purchasing tobacco products due to a surge in youth vaping.

"For some time, I've been hearing from the parents who are seeing an unprecedented spike in vaping among their teenage children," Sen. McConnell said in a news conference in Louisville, Ky. "In addition, we all know people who started smoking at a young age and who struggled to quit as adults. Unfortunately, it's reaching epidemic levels around the country."

Comment: See also:

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Handcuffs

Venezuela arrests National Assembly VP for treason; expels 55 armed forces officers amid fallout over coup attempt

Paul Dobson
Venezuelanalysis
Thu, 09 May 2019 22:29 UTC
National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano (R) arrested venezuela coup
© Notitotal
National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano (R) was detained by authorities after being accused of being involved in the failed coup attempt of April 30.
Venezuelan authorities have arrested National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano, accusing him of conspiracy and treason for his role in the April 30 attempted military putsch.

Zambrano was one of the first politicians on the scene to support self-proclaimed "Interim President" Juan Guaido and fugitive opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez in their call for a military uprising to oust the Maduro government.

The Democratic Action lawmaker was detained around 18.30 Wednesday evening by the Bolivarian National Intelligence Services (SEBIN) upon leaving his party's headquarters in La Florida district of Caracas.

Following his alleged refusal to get out of his car, officers were forced to use a tow truck to take Zambrano to the Helicoide detention facility, where it is believed he continues to be held. Authorities claim he was leaving the party offices with over US $9,000 in his pocket.

Zambrano had had his parliamentary immunity from prosecution revoked the day before by the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) following a Supreme Court ruling. Apart from treason and conspiracy, Zambrano is also charged with civil rebellion, usurpation of responsibilities, criminal association, public instigation to disobey the laws, and "continued hatred."

Comment: More fallout from the failed coup attempt:

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Bug

Scattering like roaches: Venezuelan opposition lawmakers run to foreign embassies in Caracas


RT
Fri, 10 May 2019 20:20 UTC
Americo De Grazia
© EFE
The Venezuelan deputy Américo De Grazia.
The Venezuelan Constituent National Assembly removed earlier parliamentary immunity from seven opposition lawmakers who took part in the recent failed coup in the country.

Edgar Jose Zambrano, Luis Florido, Henry Ramos Allup, Richard Blanco, Marianela Lopez, Simon Calzadilla and Americo de Grazia lost their immunity. The prosecution charges them with high treason, public conspiring for violating the law, inciting civil uprising, and power usurpation, among other crimes.

Comment: Fox News reports:
Mariela Magallanes is also inside the Italian embassy, while her colleague Richard Blanco has gone to the Argentina Embassy in Caracas.

Their moves echo those made by 1970s dissidents scrambling for protection under the flags of other countries during the previous era of Latin American dictatorships.

Blanco told local media that he went to the Argentina embassy after the arrest of Edgar Zambrano, the vice-president of the National Assembly.

Zambrano, 63, was leaving his Democratic Action Party's headquarters Wednesday when he was surprised by a commando unit from the feared SEBIN intelligence agency. The unit member surrounded his vehicle.

About 30 minutes later, the vehicle was towed away with Zambrano still inside.

It was the latest move in a protracted, increasingly murky struggle between the two camps vying for power and the support of the military.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido portrayed the arrest and the targeting of lawmakers as acts of desperation by a government whose leaders don't know who to trust.

A total of 29 National Assembly members, or 25% of parliamentarians who oppose the government, have been persecuted by the pro-Maduro supreme court, according to Guaidó.

Opposition activist Leopoldo López entered the home of the Spanish ambassador after he joined Guaido in the failed attempt to topple Maduro. López was detained for anti-government protests in 2014 and had been under house arrest for two years before he was freed.

On Thursday, Miguel Rodríguez Torres, a former spy chief who became a government critic, was also transferred by military police to a maximum-security cell at a Caracas military base, his political movement said. Rodríguez Torres was arrested a year ago.
El Periodico didn't hesitate to call it 'taking refuge". (Machine translation. Original here)
The Venezuelan deputy Américo De Grazia takes refuge in the Italian embassy

He is accused of participating in the rebellion that culminated in the failed coup against Nicolás Maduro and intends to avoid his arrest

Venezuelan deputy Américo De Grazia, accused by Nicolás Maduro's government of being involved in last week's failed military uprising, took refuge in the Italian embassy to avoid being detained and displayed as a "trophy," the legislator said.

"I will not give pleasure to the narco-dictatorship that exhibits me as a trophy and uses me as a hostage, in exchange for condoning their crimes against humanity, human rights violations, corruption, drug trafficking and terrorism. I'm still in the fight, Venezuela is worth it and I appreciate Italy's welcome," said the opposition deputy in his Twitter account.
I will not like the #NarcoDictadura that shows me as a trophy and uses me as a hostage, in exchange for condoning their crimes against humanity, violation of human rights, corruption, drug trafficking and terrorism. I'm still in the fight. #VenezuelaValeLaPena . And I appreciate the welcome of ITALY.

- Americo De Grazia (@AmericoDeGrazia) May 9, 2019
De Grazia, 59 years old and legislator for the state of Bolívar (south), is one of the 10 opposition deputies recently accused by the Venezuelan government of being part of the military uprising on April 30, which was headed by the head of parliament, Juan Guaidó

Accuses the mafias

Last Tuesday, the chavista National Constituent Assembly (ANC), a body not recognized by many governments and made up only of government officials, revoked the parliamentary immunity after the Supreme Court pointed him out as one of those responsible for the rebellion.


But many more recognize Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, as well as the UN.
governments backing maduro guaido
© Statista
As of January 2019

From his seat in Parliament he has denounced the alleged incursion of Colombian paramilitaries into his state, which he accuses of controlling mafias that extract minerals illegally. "With this action I do not intend to be a hero, nor a martyr. I just want to be useful to my country," De Grazia said of his entry into the Italian embassy.

"To my family, and to my mother and my children, to give them some peace, I know all the limitations imposed on me, with this decision that I was forced to take," added the deputy, whose status is unknown. he has in the Italian embassy .
With this action I do not pretend to be a hero, nor a martyr. I just want to be USEFUL to my Country. To my family and to my mother and my children, give her some peace. I know of all the limitations that are imposed on me, with this decision that I was forced to take. I REITERATE my commitment to Vzla.

- Americo De Grazia (@AmericoDeGrazia) May 9, 2019
On the other hand, it is known that the deputy Mariela Magallanes, from the same party as De Grazia (La Causa R), took refuge in the residence of the Italian ambassador in Caracas to avoid being imprisoned. Likewise, Congressman Richard Blanco, of the Alianza Bravo Pueblo party, asked for protection as a guest at the Argentine embassy in Venezuela, reported his son, Richard Blanco, on the social network Instagram.


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No Entry

Where's Tulsi? The Hill forgets Gabbard on list candidates who qualified for primary debates


RT
Fri, 10 May 2019 20:06 UTC
Tulsi Gabbard
© Reuters / Brian Snyder / File
Tulsi Gabbard
A report by The Hill on Democratic candidates qualifying for the party's debates has one glaring omission - Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

The Hill cited a New York Times report detailing all the Democratic candidates who have made the cut to appear on the debate stage during the primaries. Gabbard is among 10 candidates who have qualified by surpassing both the donation and polling thresholds, and yet she was the only one of those candidate who was missing from the Hill's report on Thursday.

Comment: Propaganda is created as much by what information is left out, as by what is promoted. Gabbard is a thorn in the DNC's side just as Bernie was. She ticks all their boxes, woman (and of color), veteran, a vocal base of support, but she doesn't support the globalists or wars of adventure. Their currently annointed candidate seems to be Creepy Joe. Will the DNC pull the same games as in 2016, if she threatens to grab the nomination?

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Snakes in Suits

Caught by surprise, the Trump Jr. subpoena incites an internal GOP battle

Alexander Bolton, Jordain Carney
The Hill
Fri, 10 May 2019 06:00 UTC
DTrumpJr
© Gage Skidmore/CC by-SA 2.0.jpg
Donald Trump Jr.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr's surprise decision to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. has set off an internal fight among Senate Republicans, some of whom are now pressing the North Carolina Republican to back off the request.

These Republicans argue that Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, has spent enough time testifying before Congress and that the delivery of special counsel Robert Mueller's report means it is time to end the investigations of the last presidential election.

"There's no need for another subpoena for @DonaldJTrumpJr It's time to move on & focus on issues Americans care about," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted Thursday.

He was one of several Republicans in the House and Senate who was critical of the decision to subpoena Trump Jr., which Burr made in consultation with his panel's ranking member, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).

See FOX Network's first segment:



Comment: See also:
Deep State keeping Russiagate witch-hunt alive: Senate Intel Committee subpoenas Trump Jr.

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Question

What is the real Muellergate scandal?

Craig Murray
craigmurray.org.uk
Thu, 09 May 2019 00:00 UTC
BinneyRichAssange
© DHSKevin McAleenan/ Homeland Security
Bill Binney • Seth Rich • Julian Assange
Robert Mueller is either a fool, or deeply corrupt. I do not think he is a fool.

I did not comment instantly on the Mueller Report as I was so shocked by it, I have been waiting to see if any other facts come to light in justification. Nothing has. I limit myself here to that area of which I have personal knowledge - the leak of DNC and Podesta emails to Wikileaks. On the wider question of the corrupt Russian 1% having business dealings with the corrupt Western 1%, all I have to say is that if you believe that is limited in the USA by party political boundaries, you are a fool.

On the DNC leak, Mueller started with the prejudice that it was "the Russians" and he deliberately and systematically excluded from evidence anything that contradicted that view.

Mueller, as a matter of determined policy, omitted key steps which any honest investigator would undertake. He did not commission any forensic examination of the DNC servers. He did not interview Bill Binney. He did not interview Julian Assange. His failure to do any of those obvious things renders his report worthless.

There has never been, by any US law enforcement or security service body, a forensic examination of the DNC servers, despite the fact that the claim those servers were hacked is the very heart of the entire investigation. Instead, the security services simply accepted the "evidence" provided by the DNC's own IT security consultants, Crowdstrike, a company which is politically aligned to the Clintons.
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Russian Flag

ICG: Cameroon may ask Russia, China, to help solve Anglophone crisis


Sputnik
Thu, 09 May 2019 09:36 UTC
CameroonSoldiers
© AP/Ben Curtis
Soldiers of Cameroon
The government of Cameroon and Anglophone separatists have found themselves in a political impasse. Cameroon-based political and security analysts believe that both sides should make concessions, adding that external players, most notably Russia and China, should step in to facilitate the resolution of the crisis.

The International Crisis Group (ICG), a transnational NGO, is ringing the alarm about a deadlock in negotiations that many hoped would bring peace to the restive English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

In the last 20 months, the conflict has left 1,850 dead, 530,000 internally displaced and tens of thousands of refugees. The intransigence of the belligerents threatens to generate further violence and prolong the conflict, which neither (side) can win in the short term", the ICG emphasised in a 2 May report.
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Bullseye

Maduro blasts 'Gringo Pence' over attempt to bribe army defections


Sputnik
Thu, 09 May 2019 14:03 UTC
MaduroCrowd
© Sputnik/Stringer
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
Earlier, Vice President Pence announced that the US Treasury had lifted all sanctions against a former Venezuelan intelligence service chief who broke ranks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last week and voiced his support for opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has blasted the Trump administration and Vice President Mike Pence personally over their alleged attempts to bribe the Venezuelan military into siding with the coup plotters.

"Yesterday, Mike Pence declared that the soldier who betrays the homeland and switches to the side of the gringos - that they will reward him. [This is] a lack of respect for honour, morals, and the dignity of the Bolivarian Armed Forces," Maduro said, speaking in the state of Aragua, northern Venezuela.
"This is an imperialist colonialist view of things. They think that having given the orders, Venezuela's military will just say 'understood Mr. Pence.' No! Mike Pence, the constitutional, legitimate commander in chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces is here before you and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros."
Maduro stressed that Pence had no authority to advise the Venezuelan military in any way.

Comment: See also:

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Light Sabers

Trump miffed by Bolton's aim to pull him 'into a war' with Venezuela


Sputnik
Thu, 09 May 2019 18:10 UTC
BoltonfuzzyTrump
© AP/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump and US National Security Advisor John Bolton
Earlier, Vice President Mike Pence urged Venezuelan officials to follow a former intelligence chief in breaking ranks with Caracas and joining the opposition, saying that the ex-official has had all previously imposed sanctions against him lifted.

US President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with his senior officials over how difficult a task removing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has proven, anonymous senior administration officials and advisers to the White House have told the Washington Post.

According to one senior official, Trump recently joked that National Security Adviser John Bolton wanted to pull him "into a war" in Venezuela, with the joke reportedly revealing more senior concerns. He also complained about Bolton's attempt to box him 'into a corner' and go 'beyond where he felt comfortable' on Venezuela policy, another official familiar with US Venezuela policy said.

Furthermore, White House officials said that although the president had an affinity for Juan Guaido, he has also 'wondered aloud' about how much the US really knows about him, and questioned whether he is really ready to take over governing the country.

Comment: See also:

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