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Trump Plans to Pardon Fannie and Freddie
Political Editors
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What Is Really Behind The Deluge Of Leaks
About The Extradited Spy?
By The Federalist Staff
{ thefederalist.com } ~ On Monday, CNN falsely reported that the U.S. withdrew a spy from Russia because President Donald Trump mishandled classified information. After it was debunked by New York Times reporting, Americans are left to wonder which intelligence officials leaked this false information and why... Mollie Hemingway joined Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” Tuesday morning to react to the intelligence leaks laundered by CNN reporter and scumbag/liar-nObama appointee Jim Sciutto. Hemingway suggests the leaks are coming from someone in the scumbag/liar-nObama administration, from an outside opposition firm such as Fusion GPS, or perhaps from both. “There are two likely scenarios. One is inside the government: You had scumbag/liar-nObama’s intel chiefs running this Russia operation. You also had people outside the government, such as Fusion GPS, which was claiming that it had sources highly placed in the Russian government,” Hemingway said. “We know that these people were talking to the media to set forth this Russian collusion narrative. … Perhaps they’re both trying to point fingers, and they might be trying to distract people by mentioning Trump.” Hemingway noted the leaks and stories may be part of a cover-up tied to ongoing investigations such as the DOJ inspector general’s report or U.S. Attorney John Durham’s criminal investigation. “They are starting to expose some shenanigans or misbehavior by intelligence chiefs or those people outside the government who put forth this false and dangerous Russian collusion narrative,” she said..
'Game of thrones' intensifies as contenders vie
to become Iran's next supreme leader
By SAEED GHASSEMINEJAD AND TZVI KAHN
{ thehill.com } ~ Sadegh Larijani has had a difficult summer. Despite his loyalty to Iran’s 80-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei... Larijani has faced multiple public allegations of corruption as part of a coordinated campaign by Ebrahim Raisi, his key rival. Larijani is worried — and he should be. Widely regarded as the frontrunner in the race for succession, Raisi is a formidable political operator who earned a reputation for ruthlessness thanks to his key role in the regime’s 1988 massacre of thousands of political opponents. It’s unlikely that Raisi, whom Khamenei appointed in March to replace Larijani as head of the judiciary, would have spearheaded the campaign without Khamenei’s approval. To be sure, the corruption charges are warranted: It’s no secret that Larijani has embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars from the public dole. Yet Raisi’s motives for targeting him likely stem from raw political interest: To become Iran’s ultimate decision-maker, Raisi needs to consolidate support among regime insiders, especially the Assembly of Experts, which appoints Iran’s supreme leader. The assembly recently elected Raisi as its deputy chair with 43 out of 78 votes. The political jockeying underscores a fundamental truth about the regime in Iran. While its clerical leaders often portray themselves as modest and pious representatives of God, beneath their façade lie yearnings for power and wealth — much like those of dictators throughout the world. Sadegh Larijani and his four brothers, widely known as “the Kennedys of Iran,” descend from a line of prominent ayatollahs — most notably their father, Mirza Hashem Amoli Larijani. This lineage has enabled the Larijani brothers to build close ties with the clerical aristocracy and receive important leadership positions in the regime. In December 2018, Khamenei appointed Sadegh as the chairman of the Expediency Council, which adjudicates disputes between Iran’s parliament and the Guardian Council, a 12-member body that has veto power over bills passed by the parliament. Ali Larijani, meanwhile, has served as the speaker of Iran’s parliament since 2008 and previously headed the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run media conglomerate. Mohammad-Javad Larijani is the secretary of the judiciary’s sadly misnamed High Council on Human Rights... https://thehill.com/opinion/international/460633-game-of-thrones-intensifies-as-contenders-vie-to-become-irans-next .
Why Egypt Does Not Want to Help Gaza
by Khaled Abu Toameh
{ gatestoneinstitute.org } ~ Egypt has resumed its mediation efforts to prevent an all-out military confrontation between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip... Earlier this week, senior officials from Egypt's General Intelligence Service (Mukhabarat) who visited the Gaza Strip reportedly relayed to Hamas leaders a message from Israel: it promised to "ease restrictions" on the Palestinians in return for a cessation of anti-Israel terrorist attacks. According to some reports, the promised Israeli measures include, among other things, increasing electricity and fuel supplies and facilitating the entry of merchandise into the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the year, Israel has indeed taken a number of measures to help the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The measures, which included the expansion of the fishing zone and the delivery of Qatari cash grants to the Gaza Strip, came in the context of ceasefire understandings reached between Israel and Hamas under the auspices of Egypt, the United Nations and Qatar. Israel's goodwill gestures, however, have so far failed to deter Hamas and other Palestinian groups from repeatedly violating the ceasefire understandings. Shortly before the Egyptian intelligence officials arrived in the Gaza Strip, another rocket was fired toward Israel, causing a brush fire near the city of Sderot. Two women were treated for shock after the rocket strike. It is important to note that the Egyptian intelligence officials -- who have visited the Gaza Strip several times in the past few months -- often discuss with Hamas leaders the particulars of the Hamas regime's demands for Israel to help the Palestinians. Generally left aside, however, is what Egypt, which has a shared border with the Gaza Strip, might do to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians. Egyptian officials always carry encouraging messages from Israel to Hamas: Israel is prepared to do whatever is required to help the Palestinians in return for a cessation of terrorist attacks against Israel. Meanwhile, the Egyptians themselves offer nothing but broken promises regarding the crisis in the Gaza Strip. Egyptian policy is, it appears, based on the assumption that the Gaza Strip is – and must remain – solely the problem of Israel....
Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell Return to
Court – Powell Confirms Rosenstein Authorized Targeting of Flynn Jr. for Leverage
by sundance
{ theconservativetreehouse.com } ~ Today Michael Flynn and his attorney Sidney Powell returned to federal court for a status hearing before Judge Emmet Sullivan... Generally status hearings are uneventful; however, this hearing falls on the heels of an explosive filing by Flynn’s defense outlining allegations of serious prosecutorial misconduct; and claims the DOJ is withholding Brady material. Before getting into the heart of the proceedings, here is Ms. Sidney Powell appearing on Fox News to discuss the events today. In this interview Ms. Powell confirms something we have previously presented; Rod Rosenstein authorized Robert Mueller to target Michael Flynn Jr. in order to provide leverage for a Flynn guilty plea. Hat Tip Techno-Fog: The DOJ prosecutor, Brandon Van Grack, has not filed a response to the Flynn defense motion. However, both sides argued some of the specifics today in court. For scheduling: a date of Sept. 24th, 2019, was set by Judge Sullivan for the written DOJ response to Flynn’s accusations of Brady violations. Thereafter the defense rebuttal to the DOJ response is due by October 15th; and then a hearing date of October 31st is scheduled for Sullivan to question both teams centered around the filings. A tentative sentencing date was scheduled for December 18th, 2019, as a matter of formal proceeding... https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/09/10/michael-flynn-and-sidney-powell-return-to-court-powell-confirms-rosenstein-authorized-targeting-of-flynn-jr-for-leverage/ .
U.S. Chamber’s Brilliant Leads CEOs to China
for High-Level Economic Dialogue
by Myron Brilliant
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Trump Plans to Pardon Fannie and Freddie
Political Editors: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced a plan last week to seek the release of mortgage-finance behemoths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government control. The plan notes, “After 11 years, [it is] time to bring conservatorships to an end. Ending the conservatorships is a critical step to reducing that government influence” on the housing market. Mnuchin explained, “Our view is that the government footprint has become too big. There are people in Washington who are happy to leave this the way it is for another 10 or 20 years, and that’s not us. We feel an obligation to try and fix this.”
The Wall Street Journal notes, “Fannie and Freddie don’t make loans but instead buy them from lenders and package them into securities that are sold to other investors. Figuring out how to refashion the companies remains the largest single piece of unfinished business from the financial crisis. The government assumed control of the firms in 2008 during the height of the crisis to prevent their failure, which officials’ feared would trigger a broader collapse in the housing market.”
As astute readers will recall, Democrats seeded the 2008 financial crisis with horrible mortgage-lending policies beginning in the 1990s. Trump aims to undo some of that government interference.
The Trump administration’s 50-part plan seeks “to level the playing field between the two government-sponsored enterprises, limit government-backing for the institutions for a fee and invite more private competition into the mortgage market,” reports The Hill. The plan to release Fannie and Freddie is a move in the right direction, but there is no guarantee that it will be implemented before 2020, as it would require legislative action from a divided Congress. ~The Patriot Post
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