FOREIGN POLICY/IRAN/NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR: “European diplomats say they are increasingly concerned the Trump administration will stretch out its review of the Iranian nuclear deal, undermining the agreement by curbing the economic benefits designed to ensure Iran’s compliance. President Donald Trump has attacked the agreement, reached in 2015, as a ‘terrible deal’ for the U.S. European officials […]
Category: National Security
7/7/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR/UN: “For the first time in the seven-decade effort to avert a nuclear war, a global treaty has been negotiated that proponents say would, if successful, lead to the destruction of all nuclear weapons and forever prohibit their use. Negotiators representing two-thirds of the 192-member United Nations finalized the 10-page treaty this week after […]
7/6/2017
DEFENSE/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP PEOPLE/JAMES MATTIS: “The Trump administration said it would give diplomacy more time to resolve a gathering crisis over North Korea’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon that can reach U.S. shores. On Thursday [7-6-17], Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. wasn’t closer to war, in his first remarks since North Korea […]
7/6/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE BANNON: “A former Breitbart writer and ally of Steve Bannon’s is leaving the White House after less than six months of serving as the deputy chief of staff for the National Security Council. NSC spokesman Michael Anton confirmed to CNN Thursday that Tera Dahl is exiting the group and will move on […]
7/6/2017
MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “A few days after President Donald Trump gave his Pentagon chief the unilateral authority last month to send thousands of American troops to Afghanistan at his own discretion, the White House sent classified guidance that effectively limits the number of forces. The memo, sent by national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster […]
7/6/2017
DEMS/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Five senior Democratic senators involved in national security, foreign policy and intelligence wrote President Donald Trump in a letter published Thursday [7-6-17], urging him to use his upcoming bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ‘make absolutely clear’ that Russian interference in US elections ‘will in no way be tolerated.’ […]
7/6/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said Thursday [7-6-17] he is considering ‘some pretty severe things’ in response to North Korea’s continued efforts to develop nuclear weapons that can reach the U.S. At a joint news conference with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, Mr. Trump said that North Korean leaders were ‘behaving in […]
7/6/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “China’s trade with North Korea has risen despite Beijing’s promise to enforce U.N. sanctions over the North’s nuclear program, but Chinese purchases of most North Korean exports have fallen. Customs data show total trade in the first five months of this year rose 15 percent from a year earlier, driven by […]
7/5/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “The standoff over North Korea’s nuclear program has long been shaped by the view that the United States has no viable military option to destroy it. Any attempt to do so, many say, would provoke a brutal counterattack against South Korea too bloody and damaging to risk. That remains a major […]
7/5/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “The top American general in South Korea said Wednesday [7-5-17] that self-restraint was all that kept the United States and South Korea from going to war with North Korea, as the South’s defense minister indicated that the North’s first intercontinental ballistic missile had the potential to reach Hawaii. The unusually […]
7/4/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA: “The Trump administration on Tuesday [7-4-17] confirmed North Korea’s claim that it had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, and it told Pyongyang that the United States would use ‘the full range of capabilities at our disposal against the growing threat.’ The administration followed up that warning on Wednesday morning with a […]
6/22/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/IRAQ/NATIONAL SECURITY/SYRIA: “To hear the Pentagon tell it, the United States still has no intention of getting involved in Syria’s six-year civil war; the American presence there is solely to help its allies defeat the Islamic State. But a recent spate of incidents have raised alarm from diplomats and national security officials that the […]
6/21/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to North Korea On June 26, 2008, by Executive Order 13466, the President declared a national emergency with respect to North Korea pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national […]
6/21/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “A Message to the Congress of the United States on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to North Korea Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days of the anniversary date of its declaration, […]
6/21/2017
CHINA/MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “The Trump administration has come under growing pressure to open negotiations on a temporary freeze on North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests in return for reducing the American military footprint in the Korean Peninsula, according to American officials and foreign diplomats. Versions of the proposal, floated by Beijing for several months, have […]
6/20/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “US spy satellites have detected new activity at North Korea’s underground nuclear test site for the first time in several weeks, two US officials told CNN. The activity appears to involve some modifications around one of the tunnel entrances to an underground test area. The officials said it is not yet […]
6/19/2017
CABINET/CIA/NATIONAL SECURITY: “CIA Director Mike Pompeo carves out three hours almost every weekday to drive from Langley, Virginia, to the White House with his team to give President Donald Trump his national security briefing in person. The CIA director’s treks to the West Wing reflect Trump’s insistence on frequent meetings with favored members of his […]
6/16/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “National Security Presidential Memorandum on Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba… The United States recognizes the need for more freedom and democracy, improved respect for human rights, and increased free enterprise in Cuba. The Cuban people have long suffered under a Communist regime that suppresses their legitimate aspirations for […]
6/16/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “‘National Security Presidential Memorandum on Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba’ Memorandum… https://t.co/RVr9Dg2hXt” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, June 16, 2017 05:32pm […]
5/31/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump has been handing out his cellphone number to world leaders and urging them to call him directly, an unusual invitation that breaks diplomatic protocol and is raising concerns about the security and secrecy of the U.S. commander in chief’s communications. Trump has urged leaders of Canada and Mexico […]
5/30/2017
CYBERWAR/NATIONAL SECURITY: “Between February and May, South Korean cybersecurity experts noticed intrusions at government-affiliated websites following a new pattern: They used a technique that doesn’t require tainted email links or forceful server assaults. The culprit, the experts concluded: North Korea. Pyongyang has caught blame for headline-grabbing cyberattacks dating back to 2014’s Sony Pictures Entertainment hack […]
5/29/2017
CHINA/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA: “North Korea has shown great disrespect for their neighbor, China, by shooting off yet another ballistic missile…but China is trying hard!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 29, 2017 07:18am […]
5/24/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/PHILIPPINES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump told his Philippine counterpart that Washington has sent two nuclear submarines to waters off the Korean peninsula, the New York Times said, comments likely to raise questions about his handling of sensitive information. Trump has said ‘a major, major conflict’ with North Korea is possible […]
5/22/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR/UN: “A United Nations disarmament panel presented the first draft on Monday [5-22-17] of a proposed global treaty to ban nuclear weapons, which advocates called an important step that could hasten completion of a final text by early July. Nuclear powers including the United States have boycotted the negotiations for such a treaty, calling […]
5/16/2017
FBI/JAMES COMEY/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “President Trump asked the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, to shut down the federal investigation into Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, in an Oval Office meeting in February, according to a memo Mr. Comey wrote shortly after the meeting. “I hope you can let this go,” […]
5/16/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “As a U.S. Army general, H.R. McMaster has faced down Iraqi tank divisions, Al Qaeda terrorists and Taliban insurgents. But as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, McMaster is navigating the strange environment of Washington politics and media, putting his truth-telling reputation on the line to defend Trump against claims he disclosed […]
5/16/2017
LEAKS/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s national security adviser again asserted that Trump didn’t jeopardize U.S. national security by sharing intelligence with Russian diplomats, and said the conversation in the Oval Office last week was ‘wholly appropriate.’ ‘I stand by my statement that I made yesterday,’ National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told reporters at […]
5/15/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA: “North Korea’s successful missile test-launch signals major advances in developing an intercontinental ballistic missile, such as mastery of re-entry technology and better engine performance key to targeting the United States, experts say. The isolated country has been developing a long-range missile capable of striking the mainland United States mounted with a nuclear […]
5/4/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/SUSAN RICE: “Susan Rice, the former National Security Advisor to President Obama, is refusing to testify before a Senate Subcommittee next week on…allegations of unmasking Trump transition officials. Not good!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, May 4, 2017 05:40 to 5:49am […]
5/3/2017
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/SUSAN RICE: “Former Obama administration National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Wednesday declined a request to testify next week before a Senate subcommittee, citing separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches and the fact that the invitation was not bipartisan. Rice’s decision to decline the invitation to testify on Russia’s election meddling […]
4/28/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signaled on Friday [4-28-17] that the Trump administration may have finally accepted the one course of action that could stop North Korea’s nuclear threat to the world: direct talks. After months of US military posturing and shows of force met by North […]
4/25/2017
AGRICULTURE/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS: “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to ensure the informed exercise of regulatory authority that affects agriculture and rural communities, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. A reliable, safe, and affordable […]
4/21/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “Russian military aircraft were spotted flying off the coast of Alaska for the fourth time in as many days, a US defense official told CNN on Friday [4-21-17]. The two most recent sightings occurred late Wednesday and on Thursday, with the first involving two IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft and the second involving […]
4/20/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump will direct his administration Thursday [4-20-17] to investigate whether imports of foreign steel are harming US national security, according to a White House official. Trump plans to sign a memo ordering the probe during a noon ceremony surrounded by representatives of the US steel industry. The memo […]
4/19/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/IRAN/NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Iran is sticking to the terms of its nuclear deal made with the Obama administration, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has concluded, but he questions whether sanctions should keep being lifted, given Iran’s continued support for terrorism. The Secretary of State said the Trump administration was reviewing the lifting of […]
4/18/2017
DEFENSE/ECONOMY/IMMIGRATION/JOBS/MANUFACTURING/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS: “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to ensure the faithful execution of the laws, it is hereby ordered as follows… Sec. 2. Policy. It shall be the policy of the executive branch to buy American and […]
04/14/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/MIKE PENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “Vice President Mike Pence will leave Washington on Saturday for an 11-day trip overseas with his first stop in South Korea as North Korea appears to prepare for another nuclear test. White House officials said Pence’s trip is intended to reinforce that the U.S. is fully committed to its security […]
04/14/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/OBAMA/SECRET SERVICE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump Administration will not disclose logs of those who visit the White House complex, breaking with his predecessor, the White House announced Friday [4-14-17]. The decision, after nearly three months of speculation about the fate of the records, marks a dramatic from the Obama Administration’s voluntary disclosure of more […]
04/13/2017
BUSH FAMILY/FOREIGN POLICY/IMMIGRATION/NATIONAL SECURITY/WALL: “Former President George W. Bush made the case for continuing to fund foreign aid programs and offering a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in a recent interview with NPR. Although Bush refrained from directly criticizing President Donald Trump in his comments, they contrast with the current Oval Office occupant’s call […]
04/09/2017
AMBASSADOR/NATIONAL SECURITY/SINGAPORE/TRUMP PEOPLE/KT MCFARLAND: “K.T. McFarland, the one-time top deputy to ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn, has accepted the US ambassadorship to Singapore and will likely leave the National Security Council in the coming months, a senior administration official has told CNN. ‘She is going to do it, assuming she gets confirmed,’ the official […]
04/05/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE BANNON: “Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, has been removed from the National Security Council, according to a senior administration official. An official says Bannon was only on board to oversee now-ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s work to ‘deoperationalize’ the National Security Council from the broad purview it had under […]
04/05/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/STEVE BANNON: “President Trump’s decision to remove chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council’s principals committee suggests a potentially significant change in the power balance among the four top White House advisers. Bannon’s placement on the principals committee at the start of the Trump administration drew criticism not only from Democrats […]
4/4/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “National Security Presidential Memorandum – 4 Organization of the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and Subcommittees As President, my highest priority is to ensure the safety and security of the American people. In order to advise and assist me in executing this solemn responsibility, as well as to protect and […]
04/04/2017
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/OBAMA/RUSSIA/SUSAN RICE: “The House Intelligence Committee wants Susan Rice, a top aide in the Obama administration, to testify in a probe of alleged Russian election interference, as the investigation widens to include allegations that Obama officials improperly used intelligence information involving President Donald Trump or his associates. Two officials familiar with the matter said […]
04/02/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, failed to disclose payments from a Russian television network and a second firm linked to Russia in a February financial disclosure form, according to documents released by the White House on Saturday [4-2-17]. In a financial disclosure form signed by Flynn on […]
3/31/2017
AGRICULTURE/COMMERCE/DEFENSE/DHS/ECONOMY/FOREIGN POLICY/MANUFACTURING/NATIONAL SECURITY/SECRETARY OF STATE/TREASURY/TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS/WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO): “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to ensure the informed exercise of the authority over international trade granted to me by law, it is hereby ordered as follows: […]
3/27/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR/UN: “A worldwide nuclear ban is simply not ‘realistic’, the US ambassador to the UN has said, as nearly 40 countries stayed away from talks on the subject. The US, Britain and France were among the countries that skipped a UN meeting to discuss a new treaty. More than 120 others endorsed a plan […]
3/23/2017
GOP/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/OBAMA/RUSSIA/WIRETAPPING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Representative Devin Nunes, the California Republican who is chairman of a House panel investigating Russian interference in the presidential election, may have dealt his own inquiry a fatal blow on Wednesday [3-22-17]. Armed with intelligence that some Republicans said bolstered President Trump’s widely disputed claim of being wiretapped by the Obama […]
3/22/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/SUDAN/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Message to the Congress Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to South Sudan TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of […]
3/22/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/SUDAN/TRUMP MEMORANDA: “Notice Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to South Sudan On April 3, 2014, by Executive Order 13664, the President declared a national emergency pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706), to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign […]
3/17/2017
CABINET/MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE/REX TILLERSON: “The US would consider military action against North Korea if it was provoked, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday. Speaking in Seoul at a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Tillerson said Washington’s policy of ‘strategic patience’ had ended. ‘Certainly, we do not want things […]
3/17/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/DINA POWELL/MCMASTER: “National security adviser H.R. McMaster has been on the job for less than a month, but the changes at the National Security Council already signal it will play a markedly different role under President Donald Trump than his predecessors. No decision makes that clearer than Dina Powell’s promotion from advising first […]
3/16/17
NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, was paid more than $33,750 by Russia’s state-run broadcaster RT TV-Russia for a speech in Moscow in December 2015, a top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee has learned. The US intelligence community has long assessed RT to be […]
3/08/2017
CONFLICT OF INTEREST/LEGAL/LOBBYING/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “POLITICO reported in November that Flynn’s consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group, was lobbying for a Dutch consulting firm with ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The new documents confirm that Flynn lobbied for the Turkish-linked firm, Inovo BV, before and immediately after the election. They also reveal that […]
3/08/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NATO/RUSSIA: “Russia has deployed a land-based cruise missile that violates the ‘spirit and intent’ of an arms control treaty and poses a threat to NATO, Vice Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Paul Selva said on Wednesday. It was the first public accusation by the U.S. military of the deployment after […]
3/6/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/ROGER STONE: “Former Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone admitted that he had a ‘perfectly legal back channel’ to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The Huffington Post reports that Stone, a close friend of President Donald Trump tweeted the statement, then deleted it on Saturday. Stone denied having direct contact with Assange but said in […]
3/6/2017
LEGAL/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Sessions’ recusal in the Russian case places the investigation for now in the hands of Dana Boente, a career prosecutor and the acting deputy attorney general. Before Sessions was sworn into office, Boente briefly served as acting attorney general after Trump fired his predecessor, Sally Yates, for refusing to defend the […]
3/5/2017
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP FAMILY/JARED KUSHNER: “There may yet be an innocent explanation for all the conversations coming to light between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the government of Russia. But the way Trump and his team have responded to questions about the contacts sure hasn’t made them look innocent. Quite the contrary. It all begins with […]
3/3/2017
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “The administration official disputed the idea that accepting a meeting with the Russian ambassador could be cause for concern in light of the discussion about Russian meddling in the US election, characterizing the meeting as merely an attempt to meet key international players during the transition to power. The official added that Kushner […]
3/3/2017
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/RUSSIA: “President Donald Trump’s senior aide Jared Kushner and ousted adviser Michael Flynn met with the Russian ambassador to the United States at a time when the Trump administration’s relationship with the Russians was under close scrutiny. Kushner and Flynn sat down in December at Trump Tower with Sergey Kislyak, according to a […]
3/2/2017
ATTORNEY GENERAL/LEGAL/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/JEFF SESSIONS: “Jeff Sessions is an honest man. He did not say anything wrong. He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not…intentional. This whole narrative is a way of saving face for Democrats losing an election that everyone thought they were supposed…to win. The Democrats are overplaying […]
3/2/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/FIONA HILL: “The White House has tapped Fiona Hill, a highly regarded Russia scholar, to be the National Security Council’s senior director for Europe and Russia, an administration official said. The Trump administration’s selection of Ms. Hill would bring a top expert with a sober view of Russian President Vladimir Putin […]
3/1/2017
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “In the Obama administration’s last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians — across the government. Former American officials say they had two aims: to ensure that such […]
3/1/2017
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “In the Obama administration’s last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians — across the government. Former American officials say they had two aims: to ensure that such meddling […]
2/28/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/DAN COATS: “Dan Coats, President Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. intelligence community, said at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday [2-28-17] that he believes Russia attempted to meddle in last year’s presidential race, putting him potentially at odds with the White House. Russia ‘definitely did try to influence the campaign,’ said Coats, […]
2/25/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “New national security adviser H.R. McMaster is already setting a strikingly different tone than his ousted predecessor, Michael Flynn, and President Donald Trump, saying the term ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ isn’t helpful for US goals. At an all-hands meeting of the National Security Council on Thursday, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster said jihadist terrorists […]
2/24/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said on Thursday [2-23-17] he wants to ensure the U.S. nuclear arsenal is at the ‘top of the pack,’ saying the United States has fallen behind in its weapons capacity… In his first comments about the U.S. nuclear arsenal since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump was asked […]
2/24/2017
FBI/INTELLIGENCE/LEAKS/NATIONAL SECURITY: “U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the FBI on Friday for failing to stop leaks of national security information to the media and directed the agency to find those who pass on classified information. Trump’s comments come amid media reports saying the FBI refused a White House request to knock down news stories saying […]
2/24/2017
FBI/INTELLIGENCE/LEAKS/NATIONAL SECURITY: “The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security ‘leakers’ that have permeated our government for a long time. They can’t even…find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. FIND NOW” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 24, 2017 07:31am to 07:36am […]
2/22/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, President Trump’s new national security adviser, is considering a reorganization of the White House foreign policy team that would give him control of Homeland Security and guarantee full access to the military and intelligence agencies. Just days after arriving at the White House, Mr. McMaster is weighing […]
2/21/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/SEAN SPICER: “White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that if President Donald Trump’s newly appointed national security adviser wanted to remove chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council’s principals committee, the president would ‘take that under serious consideration.’ ‘The president has made clear to him he’s got full authority […]
2/21/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “President Donald Trump’s appointment of Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster to be his national security adviser is a brilliant decision. McMaster, 54, is the smartest and most capable military officer of his generation, one who has not only led American victories on the battlefields of the 1991 Gulf War and of the Iraq […]
2/20/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “Congratulations to our new National Security Advisor, General H.R. McMaster. Video: https://t.co/BKn9r225Kk https://t.co/VBXcJ1b6Pv” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 20, 2017 07:38pm […]
2/20/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “Just named General H.R. McMaster National Security Advisor.” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 20, 2017 04:00pm […]
2/19/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “President Donald Trump’s personal counsel, Michael Cohen, hand-delivered a ‘peace’ plan for Russia and Ukraine to former national security adviser Michael Flynn before Flynn was asked to resign, the New York Times reported on Sunday. The plan involved lifting sanctions on Russia in return for Moscow withdrawing its support for pro-Russia […]
2/19/2017
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A senior National Security Council staffer has been fired over his criticism of President Donald Trump’s administration. According to the Associated Press, ‘current and former administration officials’ said Western Hemisphere division chief Craig Deare was terminated following remarks he made Thursday at a private talk at the Wilson Center, a D.C.-based […]
2/17/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/NOMINATIONS: “General Keith Kellogg, who I have known for a long time, is very much in play for NSA – as are three others.” – Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Feb. 17, 2017 08:16am […]
2/16/2017
IMMIGRATION/NATIONAL SECURITY/POLITICS: “A meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement intended to mollify lawmakers who are concerned one week after a round-up of nearly 700 undocumented immigrants had the opposite effect Thursday, as organizers expelled rank-and-file members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus… According to a fact sheet from ICE given out at the meeting and provided […]
2/16/2017
IMMIGRATION/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRAVEL BAN: “Immigrant advocates and local law enforcers expressed fears on Thursday [2-16-17] that the arrest of an undocumented woman at a Texas courthouse as she sought protection from domestic violence would discourage others from asking for help. Officials in El Paso, Texas, said that the detention of the woman moments after Immigration and […]
2/16/2017
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. intelligence officials have withheld sensitive intelligence from President Donald Trump because they are concerned it could be leaked or compromised, according to current and former officials familiar with the matter. The officials’ decision to keep information from Mr. Trump underscores the deep mistrust that has developed between the intelligence community […]
2/16/2017
CABINET/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “The FBI is not expected to pursue any charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn regarding a phone call with Russia’s ambassador, barring new information that changes what they know, law enforcement officials told CNN Thursday [2-16-17]. Flynn was fired by President Donald Trump earlier this week after it was […]
2/15/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Federal agents questioned then-National Security Adviser Mike Flynn in January, shortly after the White House denied he had talked about sanctions with a Russian official, according to people familiar with the matter. The Federal Bureau of Investigation interview, which raises the legal stakes for Mr. Flynn and adds to the political […]
2/15/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “One Democratic representative says the Trump administration could be involved in treason. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s resignation after reports that he spoke privately about sanctions against Russia with the country’s ambassador has raised more questions than answers. Massachusetts congressman Seth Moulton on Tuesday [2-14-17] told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer things […]
2/15/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Could Donald Trump’s latest scandal be as big as Watergate? Following revelations of Trump’s relationship with Russia, veteran news anchor Dan Rather says, this could be even bigger than Watergate. Taking to his Facebook, the former host of CBS Evening News writes that on a 1-10 scale of an […]
2/15/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “A bipartisan Senate duo is asking for the Justice Department to release details and transcripts that triggered the fall of Michael Flynn, the President Donald Trump’s national security adviser who was fired Monday. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein, the top Republican and Democrat respectively on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote […]
2/14/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald J. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election, according to four current and former American officials. American law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted the communications around […]
2/14/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “Russia has secretly deployed a new cruise missile that American officials say violates a landmark arms control treaty, posing a major test for President Trump as his administration is facing a crisis over its ties to Moscow… The ground-launched cruise missile at the center of American concerns is one that the Obama […]
2/14/2017
CABINET/FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “The champagne toasts that some Russian officials quaffed just a few short months ago to celebrate the victory of Donald J. Trump have gone a bit flat. Euphoria was already starting to cede to caution before Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s national security adviser and a perceived friend of Russia, […]
2/14/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “The White House sought Tuesday to quickly contain the fallout from the ouster of national security advisor Michael Flynn, but President Trump and top aides found themselves mired in further disarray as more details emerged that undermined their portrayal of the matter. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer contradicted assertions that […]
2/13/2017
POLITICS/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump and his top aides coordinated their response to North Korea’s missile test on Saturday night in full view of diners at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — a remarkable public display of presidential activity that is almost always conducted in highly secure settings. The scene — of aides […]
2/13/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “Michael Flynn resigned late Monday as President Trump’s national security advisor, following mounting scrutiny over his conflicting accounts of contacts with a Russian diplomat and his admission that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the matter. Flynn’s departure, which came after several days in which Trump conspicuously refused to […]
2/13/2017
IMMIGRATION/NATIONAL SECURITY: “The U.S. has given sanctuary to more than 3 million people fleeing religious, political, or racial persecution since instituting rigorous refugee screening in 1980. Not one has killed anyone in a terrorist attack. Even if you include the three Cuban refugees who murdered three people in the 1970s, before thosse standards were in […]
2/13/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MICHAEL FLYNN: “The White House is reviewing whether to retain national security adviser Mike Flynn amid a furor over his contacts with Russian officials before President Donald Trump took office, an administration official said Sunday. Mr. Flynn has apologized to White House colleagues over the episode, which has created a rift with Vice […]
2/12/2017
CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA: “President Donald Trump is facing calls for a show of strength toward North Korea after Pyongyang’s weekend launch of a ballistic missile, posing the first major challenge to his administration by a foreign leader and an awkward balancing act with China. U.S. lawmakers called for military exercises with regional allies, a […]
2/12/2017
CABINET/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/MICHAEL FLYNN: “The ominous silence around the Trump administration’s national security advisor, retired Gen. Michael T. Flynn, deepened Sunday as a senior White House official in a televised interview declined to say if the president still has confidence in him. ‘That’s the question that I think you should ask the president, the question you […]
2/12/2017
NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “These are chaotic and anxious days inside the National Security Council, the traditional center of management for a president’s dealings with an uncertain world. Three weeks into the Trump administration, council staff members get up in the morning, read President Trump’s Twitter posts and struggle to make policy to fit them. […]
2/11/2017
FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA: “North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, in what South Korea called the North’s first attempt to test President Trump’s policy on the isolated country. A projectile believed to be a modified version of the North’s intermediate-range ballistic missile Musudan took off at […]
2/10/2017
CABINET/MICHAEL FLYNN/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “White House National Security Adviser Mike Flynn discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country’s ambassador to the U.S. before President Donald Trump took office, current and former American officials said, citing transcripts of intercepted communications that contradict his repeated assurances that the subject hadn’t come up in a series of phone […]
2/9/2017
CRIME/NATIONAL SECURITY/POLICE/TRUMP EXEC ORDERS: ” ‘Enforcing Federal Law With Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking’ The order outlines the administration’s approach to cutting down on organized crime — including gangs, cartels and racketeering organizations — by enhancing cooperation with foreign governments and the ways in which federal agencies share information and data. […]
2/9/2017
IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRAVEL BAN: “A federal appeals panel on Thursday [2-9-17] unanimously rejected President Trump’s bid to reinstate his ban on travel into the United States from seven largely Muslim nations, a sweeping rebuke of the administration’s claim that the courts have no role as a check on the president. The three-judge panel, suggesting that the […]