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Trump invokes executive privilege to block Dem access to unredacted Mueller report

Donald Trump Military Academy at West Point
© Alex Brandon/AP Photo
President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he departs after the presentation of the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point football team, in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 6, 2019.
President Donald Trump has asserted executive privilege on May 8, to block the efforts of the House Judiciary Committee Democrats to get an unredacted copy of special counsel Robert Mueller's report and underlying documents.

"Faced with Chairman Nadler's blatant abuse of power, and at the Attorney General's request, the President has no other option than to make a protective assertion of executive privilege," the White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The statement came as the House Judiciary Committee is holding a vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt after the Justice Department (DOJ) refused to turn over an unredacted Mueller report.

X

'Case closed': Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Dems must 'move on' from Russiagate

Trump Mitch McConnell
© REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, declared that there were no illicit ties between President Donald Trump and the Russians, asking Democrats to finally move on.

"Case closed," McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday, highlighting the special counsel's findings of no conspiracy.

He slammed Democrats for "unhinged partisanship" and for "endlessly relitigating a two-and-a-half year-old election result," comparing the situation to the film 'Groundhog Day,' wherein the main character relives the same day over and over again.

Bad Guys

Rogue State: Pompeo sez US must prevent construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline to 'counter Russia'

lavrov i pompeo
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has yet again lashed out at the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, claiming that Moscow wants it as "leverage" over Europe, and vowed to continue efforts to disrupt it.

Pompeo, well known for his vocal criticism of the pipeline project, touched upon the topic while giving a speech at the Centre for Policy Studies in London on Wednesday.

"Russia wants Nord Stream 2 to use energy as a leverage over Europe. We shouldn't allow it to proceed," Pompeo stated, while praising the close relationship between the US and the UK.

Comment: Also see:


Eye 1

Twitter suspends conservative activist David Horowitz

David Horowitz
© Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP
Author and conservative activist David Horowitz says there is a "disgusting" epidemic of anti-Semitism on campuses and that administrators are tolerating it.
The Twitter purge of conservatives continued Tuesday as the social-media giant suspended longtime activist David Horowitz.

The suspension, initially reported by OANN host Jack Posobiec, came the same day as Mr. Posobiec's account devoted to documenting assaults on Trump supporters, @MAGAphobia, was suspended.


Mr. Horowitz's certified account @horowitz39 showed up as suspended early Tuesday evening.

It was restored by later in the evening, with Twitter saying the suspension was a mistake - an explanation Mr. Horowitz didn't buy.

Mr. Horowitz is a former leftist who edits FrontPage Magazine and directs Discover the Networks, a watchdog group that tracks liberals and leftists.

The Horowitz Freedom Center, which still had a Twitter account, denounced the suspension as "@jack continuing his fascist censorship of conservative voices."

The group started the hashtag #FreeDavid.


Twitter is notoriously opaque about the reasons for suspending accounts, and the platform is widely seen among conservatives as applying double standards in application of its anti-hate rules.

Conservative actor James Woods also has been locked out of his Twitter account since late last month for "abusive behavior," specifically his reaction to special counsel Robert Mueller's report, in which he cited a famous Ralph Waldo Emerson quote. His feed is still up, with the last tweet coming April 19.

Comment: See also:


Eagle

The MAGApocalypse comes to Venezuela thanks to America's blindly loyal right

Venezuela
When the U.S. surprised the world by electing Donald Trump president many of us understood what it truly meant. "MAGA Bitchez!" was all I could say for at least a week. It was such a glorious event.

It was a giant 'two-fingers up' to the globalist establishment and endemic corruption of not just our government but of our society. We hoped it would signal a fundamental shift in U.S. foreign and domestic policy.

"No Mas" to more creeping totalitarianism at home.

"No Mas" to the weird intersectionalism and messianic Just War interventionism of the Baby Boomer generation.

Finally a coherent political statement from the latch-key Generation X; ready to assume the mantle of political power and tear down the rotten edifice of the world's financial and political behemoth sucking the life out of humanity, one rehypothecated dollar at a time.

Sadly many of us, including myself, were wrong. Two and a half years of the most cynical Russophobia supporting an obvious and ham-handed coup operation against Trump has left the country more divided today than it was in 2016 when he won.

Gear

Venezuela tests Trump-Bolton relationship

Bolton must go
President Trump and national security adviser John Bolton's relationship is being put to the test by the escalating crisis in Venezuela.

Bolton this week signaled support for military intervention in the South American country to oust embattled President Nicolás Maduro, a move that would pose a challenge for Trump, who has so far indicated a preference for and campaigned on scaling down existing military conflicts and avoiding new ones.

While Trump has said all options are on the table for Venezuela, Bolton has become the public face of any military effort. On Friday, Bolton met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan at the Pentagon to discuss the situation in Venezuela.

Comment: Could we be watching John Bolton's last stand?


Propaganda

Kiev's US Embassy pushes Ukrainian propaganda outfit on 'World Press Freedom Day'

blue heart yellow border
© YURY KIRNICHNY / AFP
By promoting the founder of the notorious "StopFake," US diplomats in Ukraine seemed to confuse "World Press Freedom Day" with "April Fool's Day."

Yevhen Fedchenko heads the Western-sponsored "Infowars" operation, which attempts to whitewash pretty much all of Ukraine's sins as distortions amplified by "Russian disinformation." And he's become so discredited that even US/UK journalists covering Ukraine have made him a figure of fun at this point.

If the US Embassy had limited Fedchenko to describing "the difference between journalism and propaganda," it wouldn't have been a bad interview. Because, after all, perhaps a propagandist is the best person to describe the variance between the two concepts.

Pirates

New Iran sanctions: Trump threatens anyone trading aluminum, iron, steel & copper

Steel Saba
© Reuters/Morteza Nikoubazl
Steel Saba complex in Isfahan province, Iran (FILE PHOTO)
The US has imposed sweeping new sanctions on anyone who trades with Iran in iron, steel, copper, aluminum and related products, escalating the economic blockade of Tehran as the nuclear deal continues to unravel.

An executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday says the property of anyone who owns or operates or engages in "significant" transactions with Iran's metals sector will be seized by the US under sanctions laws. Likewise, anyone accused of materially assisting, sponsoring or supporting anyone who is sanctioned will have their property blocked as well.

The blocked property "may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in," says the executive order. The sanctions apply to property inside the US, or in possession or control of any US person.

Comment: If Iran was such a threat, those nations that have proven their willingness to work towards cooperation and some semblance of peace, like Russia and China, would not be willing to trade with them:


Bullseye

'Frothing extremist': Tucker Carlson berates Dem. Brian Sims over pro-abortion clips, roasts CNN's silence

Tucker Carlson roasts Brian Sims
© Reuters/Lucas Jackson' Facebook/Brian Sims
A video of Democratic lawmaker Brian Sims confronting pro-life protesters has sparked outcry, including from Fox News' Tucker Carlson, who said Sims might look like a "mentally-ill panhandler," but is really a "Democratic star."

Carlson's biting comments came during his Tuesday show, where he replayed the now viral clip of Sims confronting a protester he repeatedly calls an "old white lady" who was silently praying outside a Planned Parenthood in the representative's home district in Pennsylvania.


The video was originally published on Twitter by Sims, who implored "righteous opposition" and "push back" against pro-life protesters who "prey on young women," "use white privilege," and are "racist, classist, bigots."

Card - VISA

The authoritarian war on cash is a war on liberty

war on cash
Authoritarians are forever trying to surveil and manipulate humanity to their desired ends. Advances in technology have surely made it easier in many respects. A very big goal, from the point of view of any true authoritarian, would be the abolition of cash. All economic transactions monitored. No privacy whatsoever. The accomplishment of such a goal is far from a done deal. We should stand against it at every turn.


Comment: See also: