Trump era: Fascist dawn, or road to liberation?

[angelburst29]

DHS Chief Resigns After Six Months

Oct. 12, 2019 - US President Donald Trump announced Friday night that Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan would step down from his position.

“Kevin McAleenan has done an outstanding job as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security. We have worked well together with Border Crossings being way down," tweeted Trump, who tapped McAleenan to lead the department earlier this year, The Hill reported.

"Kevin now, after many years in Government, wants to spend more time with his family and go to the private sector,” Trump said, adding, “Congratulations Kevin, on a job well done!”

Trump stated that he will announce McAleenan’s successor next week, noting, “Many wonderful candidates!”

Trump named McAleenan the department’s acting chief in April after Kirstjen Nielsen's resignation. McAleenan was never nominated for the position full-time, and his eventual successor will require Senate confirmation.

Top Aide to US Secretary of State Resigns Amid Impeachment Investigation

Oct. 12, 2019 - A senior aide to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo resigned after working for 37 years in the department. Michael McKinley has held several diplomatic posts, including US ambassador to Peru, Columbia, and Afghanistan, RIA Novosti reported.

He worked closely with the administration of President Donald Trump on such issues as Venezuela, Mexico and Southeast Asia and talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, which both sides said were close to reaching an agreement, before they were cancelled last month. His last diplomatic post was as US ambassador to Brazil. It is when he was hired by Pompeo to serve as a conduit between his office and a career service.

The US mainstream media, however, quickly jumped to the conclusion that McKinley’s resignation was prompted by the impeachment investigation into Trump.

The Washington Post reported that McKinley was allegedly disappointed with the US secretary of state’s unwillingness to protect the department’s employees named in the impeachment inquiry.

McKinley’s resignation comes after former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified before Congress. Yovanovitch noted that Pompeo had failed to protect her when Trump decided to recall her from her post in May.

The top US diplomat brushed aside reports accusing him of a lack of support for his employees.

Report: Federal Prosecutors Investigating Trump Lawyer

Oct. 12, 2019 - Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are reportedly investigating whether President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani's dealing with Ukraine broke lobbying laws. The investigation into Giuliani is affiliated with the case against two of his associates who were detained this week on allegedly violating campaign finance laws.

Giuliani Associates Who Aided Ukraine Investigation Arrested on Campaign Finance Charges

Oct. 10, 2019 - Two men who aided efforts by President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden were arrested on campaign finance violation charges Wednesday.

Federal authorities arrested Florida businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, alleging that they violated campaign finance laws in order to funnel money to numerous Republican committees, including a $325,000 contribution in May 2018 to a pro-Trump super PAC called America First Action, The Hill reported.

The charges allege that the two men participated in a straw donor scheme to provide money to political candidates. It does not appear that the allegations are related to the controversy over Giuliani's work in Ukraine.

Fruman and Parnas, both US citizens who were born in Ukraine, are expected to appear in federal court Thursday in Virginia. The US attorney’s office in Manhattan has been investigating both men.

After the arrests were announced on Thursday, a trio of House committees pursuing the impeachment inquiry against Trump issued subpoenas to the two men for documents related to their work with Ukrainian officials and political contributions in the US.

A spokesman for the US Attorney's office said that Fruman and Parnas were arrested at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night. Another man named in the indictment, Andrey Kukushkin, was arrested in California. A fourth, an American businessman named David Correia, has not been arrested.

In March 2018, the indictment alleged, Fruman and Parnas “began attending political fundraising events in connection with federal elections and making substantial contributions to candidates, joint fundraising committees, and independent expenditure committees with the purpose of enhancing their influence in political circles and gaining access to politicians”.

They allegedly created a fake organization called Global Energy Producers to funnel contributions to political committees. According to campaign finance filings, the organization only made campaign donations to the America First Action as well as a $15,000 donation to a super PAC supporting Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia’s Republican attorney general.

The Campaign Legal Center, a transparency advocacy group, filed a Federal Elections Commission complaint about the super PAC donation in July 2018.

According to the indictment, the contributions “were made for the purpose of gaining influence with politicians so as to advance their own personal financial interests and the political interests of Ukrainian government officials, including at least on Ukrainian government official with whom they were working”.

The two men allegedly lobbied an unnamed, then-sitting congressman to push for the removal of Marie Yovanovitch, who at the time was US ambassador to Ukraine. The career diplomat was recalled from that post in May.

The details outlined in the indictment of the two men's contributions to the unnamed congressmen align with campaign finance records of their donations to now-former Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas).

The two men allegedly dined with Trump himself in 2018 and later met with his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., at a Beverly Hills, Calif., fundraiser, according to reporting in The Wall Street Journal, which also was first to report on the indictments.

The two reportedly introduced Giuliani to several Ukrainian officials to discuss the dismissal of a prosecutor, which Trump has alleged without evidence was the result of Biden sabotaging an investigation into a company his son Hunter worked for. Trump’s attempts to encourage Ukraine’s president to investigate Biden led the House to open an impeachment inquiry.

Earlier this week, John Dowd, a former attorney for Trump who represents the two men, told the Miami Herald they would not cooperate with House requests for documents as part of the investigation. Parnas previously told the newspaper he “got certain information” about Biden “and I thought it was my duty to hand it over”.

Trump Defends 'Crime Buster' Giuliani Amid Reported Probe

Oct. 13, 2019 - President Donald Trump on Saturday defended his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani as the former New York City mayor faces scrutiny from Congress and a reported investigation by federal prosecutors in New York.

"So now they are after the legendary 'crime buster' and greatest Mayor in the history of NYC, Rudy Giuliani," Trump tweeted Saturday morning, The Hill reported.

Trump Threatens to Sue Schiff, Pelosi

Oct. 13, 2019 - US President Donald Trump on Saturday night lambasted the House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, saying his administration would look into possibly suing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) over the probe.

"We're going to take a look at it. We're going after these people. These are bad, bad people," Trump stated while speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C, The Hill reported.

"I actually told my lawyer, I said sue [Schiff] anyway. I said, even if we lose, the American public will understand," Trump said of Schiff, who is helping lead the House's impeachment inquiry.

"And sue Nancy Pelosi, or maybe we should just impeach them, because they’re lying and what they’re doing is a terrible thing for our country," Trump added.

The US Constitution stipulates that members of Congress cannot be impeached.

Lawyers: US Envoy to EU to Testify in Ukraine Impeachment Probe

Oct. 12, 2019 - US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland plans to testify next Thursday in a House impeachment probe of President Donald Trump, despite an administration vow to not cooperate, his lawyers said in a statement on Friday.

"Notwithstanding the State Department’s current direction to not testify, Ambassador Sondland will honour the Committee’s subpoena and he looks forward to testifying on Thursday [October 17]," the statement said, adding, "Ambassador Sondland has at all times acted with integrity and in the interests of the United States. He has no agenda apart from answering the Committee’s questions fully and truthfully", Sputnik reported.

Three House committees subpoenaed Sondland after he was invited to testify on Tuesday but did not show up on orders from the State Department.

U.S. ambassador to EU to testify in impeachment, will not share documents

Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, will testify before the committees leading an impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump, his lawyers said on Friday, after the Trump administration had earlier blocked his appearance.

Abandoning diplomat's discretion, ex-Ukraine ambassador takes Trump to task

Oct 12, 2019 - The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine abandoned diplomatic discretion and accused the Trump administration of recalling her based on false claims and of eviscerating the State Department, an act that may end her career but drew praise for her courage.

Ex-envoy tells impeachment inquiry Trump ousted her based on 'false claims'

Oct. 12, 2019 - The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine on Friday told a House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump that Trump ousted her based on "unfounded and false claims" after she had come under attack by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Biden: Trump Sold out Allies in Syria, Betrayed US Forces, National Security

Oct. 11, 2019 - Former Vice President Joe Biden hit President Donald Trump's decision to pull American troops from Northern Syria on Thursday, saying the US leader sold out Kurdish allies in Syria and betrayed US troops.

"He betrayed our brave troops, who sacrificed alongside them," Biden said in a statement, according to The Hill. "He betrayed our word as a nation — raising doubts among our allies around the world about America's security commitments," Biden added.

"And he betrayed our security by green lighting a Turkish incursion that will create chaos and destruction, setting conditions for ISIS (also known as ISIL or Daesh) to regrow," he continued.

The White House announced on Sunday that Turkey would be moving forward with a long-threatened offensive in Northern Syria and that US troops would not be in the “immediate area” when it happens.

Federal Judge Declares Trump Border Proclamation Unlawful

Oct. 12, 2019 - A federal judge in Texas declared on Friday that US President Donald Trump's proclamation of a national emergency on the Southern border is unlawful, blocking the plan to divert funding for a border wall.

Judge David Briones of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas said in his opinion that the plan would be blocked after getting input from both sides in a lawsuit for the scope of an injunction, The Hill reported.

The lawsuit was brought by El Paso County in Texas and a group called the Border Network for Human Rights.

Briones, who was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton, ruled that Trump overstepped his authority to divert more funds to border security than what was appropriated by Congress.

He also ruled that El Paso has standing to sue the president and members of his Cabinet because the county "suffered reputational and economic injuries" as a result of the administration's rhetoric on the situation at the border and the construction plans that the proclamation entailed.

US Judges Block Trump New Rule for Poor Immigrants

Oct. 12, 2019 - Judges in three US states temporarily blocked a rule by the administration of President Donald Trump that would deny legal residency to immigrants deemed likely to require government assistance, as Trump’s immigration agenda faces more legal blockades in courts around the country.

Federal judges in New York, California and Washington State issued three separate injunctions that temporarily block the “public charge” rule, which would impose major obstacles to obtaining green cards for those may use government benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps and or housing aid, World News reported.

The court rulings are likely to be swiftly appealed by the US Justice Department.

Putin says Trump not to blame for lack of improvement in Russia-U.S. ties

Oct. 13, 2019 - Moscow is not blaming U.S. President Donald Trump for failing to improve U.S.-Russian relations, a pledge he had made during his election campaign, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Arab broadcasters.

 

[Cosmos]

Pretty amazing tweets by Trump (it was probably posted elsewhere, thought I'd post it here too):

It has been pretty obvious from the getgo that „no more war“ was one of the two essential promises apart from „making America great again“ that Trump was pushing and still is pushing rather successfully against all odds. Cudos. He is pretty clear on that and was from the getgo.

I feel some hope thinking Trump means it when he says he wants to put an end to the Endless Wars. Am I being naïve?

I‘ve seen no single indication to this day that he doesn’t mean what he says when he wants to put an end to the Endless Wars. In fact, to the contrary; by his actions he has clearly proven so far that he means what he says in that regard.

 

[angelburst29]

I‘ve seen no single indication to this day that he doesn’t mean what he says when he wants to put an end to the Endless Wars. In fact, to the contrary; by his actions he has clearly proven so far that he means what he says in that regard.

Trump tells Pentagon to begin withdrawing remaining troops from northern Syria

The United States is poised to move about 1,000 U.S. troops from northern Syria amid an ongoing Turkish incursion into the region, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday, calling the situation "untenable" for U.S. forces.

U.S. to pull last troops from north Syria as Turkey presses offensive against Kurds

The United States is poised to withdraw some 1,000 troops from northern Syria, its defense secretary said on Sunday, after learning that Turkey planned to extend its military incursion against Kurdish militia further south than originally planned.

Exclusive: U.S. could pull bulk of troops from Syria in matter of days - officials

The United States is considering plans to withdraw the bulk of American troops from northern Syria in the coming days, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday, in what would be a faster-than-expected timeline for the U.S. pullout amid Turkey's escalating offensive.


The Pentagon's counter-move ... 1 hour 50 minutes - after Trump requests American Troops withdraw from Northern Syria ...

Pentagon chief vows to cooperate with impeachment probe (Video)
Pentagon chief vows to cooperate with impeachment probe

Washington - Oct. 13, 2019 - US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday the Pentagon would cooperate with the congressional impeachment inquiry -- in an apparent break with President Donald Trump's policy to thwart the probe.

Esper said his department would try to comply with a subpoena from House Democrats seeking records relating to the withholding of US military aid to Ukraine.

"We will do everything we can to cooperate with the Congress," Esper said on CBS's Face The Nation.

His reassurance came days after the White House announced it would not cooperate with the Democratic-led House of Representatives, calling its impeachment push illegitimate and unconstitutional.

Esper told Fox News Sunday that administration officials and Trump himself may place restrictions on the release of documents demanded by the subpoena.

"I don't know the status of what that document preparation is. I don't know what restrictions they will have internally," Esper said. "The White House has a say on the release of documents as well. There are a number of things that play into this."

- 'Absolutely illegal' -
On Tuesday, Trump's White House counsel Pat Cipollone sent senior Democrats an eight-page letter declaring the inquiry illegitimate. The letter has been rejected by experts as having little legal basis.

 

[turiya]

Barak Obama: "He [Trump] is going to bring all these jobs back. Well, how exactly is he going to do that? What are you going to do?
There's no answer to it... What magic wand do you have?"

Well, clearly Trump proved that he does have a 'magic wand'. All he has to do is send a tweet out & the markets instantaneously respond to it. He has control over the narrative, which is something the Central Banks / Federal Reserve have been struggling to keep control over. But, Trump has taken over control. He knows what is happening with the banking system. And he's known it for quite some time. Long before he became president. There is a good reason why the portrait of Andrew Jackson hanging in the Oval Office. Trump is sending a signal to the Central Banking cabal - "Your time is up!"



Trump is clearly making an attempt to position this country - America - in position to withstand the upcoming monetary implosion. That's why he is renegotiating the various trade deals with other countries. And, China, is the big fish that needs to be fried. That's why he is bringing manufacturing industry back into this country. Its about "Jobs, jobs, jobs..." Yes, the implosion of the central banking fiat monetary system is coming & its going to be a worldwide implosion. That's what is driving migrants to be wanting to illegally enter this country. That why building a wall on the southern border with Mexico has such a priority.

Be thankful that Donald Trump is the American president at this present time, at this present stage in American history. He is the right man to be POTUS at this time. And, he needs a second term in order to accomplish all this. And, he will win his second term. And you can thank whatever god(s) you have in mind that will be overseeing all this.

The central banks have been responsible for bringing much of the misery that is prevalent in this world. They are responsible for the endless wars that have plagued this planet for decades. Their plan was to implement an event that would be used to blame for their banking system implosion. They needed to plunge this world ever more deeply into the scenario of on-going, endless wars. Trump has a different plan.



For too long the Rothschild central banking system has pushed this world to the brink of madness... A world that essentially has been standing on its head. The re-institution of a sound monetary system will bring more sanity back. And the world will stand on its feet, once again.

 

[angelburst29]

Hunter Biden Steps Down from Chinese Board amid Trump Attacks
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/...ps-down-from-chinese-board-amid-trump-attacks

October, 13, 2019 - Hunter Biden is stepping down from the board of a Chinese-backed private equity company and promising to forego all foreign work if his father, former US Vice President Joe Biden, is elected president in 2020.

After months of keeping a relatively low-profile as US President Donald Trump leveled a barrage of unsubstantiated accusations of corruption at him, the younger Biden is publicly vowing to avoid any conflict of interest.

According to a statement released on his behalf by his lawyer George Mesires, Biden said he’ll resign at the end of the month from the management company of a private equity fund that’s backed by Chinese state-owned entities. He also pledged that he wouldn’t work for any foreign-owned companies or serve on their boards during a potential Biden administration. He reiterated that he never discussed his business activities with his father.

“Hunter always understood that his father would be guided, entirely and unequivocally, by established US policy, regardless of its effects on Hunter’s professional interests,” the statement said. “He never anticipated the barrage of false charges against both him and his father by the President of the United States.”

Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have repeatedly claimed, without providing evidence, that Hunter Biden made millions of dollars from China while his father was vice president. They’ve also made unsubstantiated claims that Joe Biden used his position as the US administration’s point person on Ukraine to help quash an investigation in 2016 into the owner of one of the country’s largest private gas companies where Hunter sat on the board.

Earlier this month, Trump publicly called on China to investigate the Bidens. A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry rejected that notion, saying it wouldn’t interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

“Under a Biden Administration, Hunter will readily comply with any and all guidelines or standards a President Biden may issue to address purported conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such conflicts, including any restrictions related to overseas business interests,” the statement said. “He will continue to keep his father personally uninvolved in his business affairs.”

The statement aims to set the record straight on Biden’s past work in Ukraine and China, which Trump and Giuliani have fixated on as the 2020 campaign heats up. He served a five-year term on the board of Burisma, one of Ukraine’s biggest private gas companies, whose owner had been under investigation for alleged money laundering and abuse of power. The allegations predated his joining the board in April 2014. He stepped down earlier this year.

Trump has alleged that Vice President Biden in 2016 threatened to withhold billions of dollars in loan guarantees unless Ukraine fired the country’s top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, as a way to quash the probe and help his son. But US and Ukrainian officials said the investigation at the time was dormant and that Shokin was fired for the opposite reason: failing to fight corruption.

“Despite extensive scrutiny, at no time has any law enforcement agency, either domestic or foreign, alleged that Hunter engaged in wrongdoing at any point during his five-year term,” the statement said, Bloomberg reported.

At the time he joined the Burisma board, Hunter was “of counsel” at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, a US law firm, and had been advising the company on “its corporate reform initiatives,” it said. He urged Boies Schiller to hire Nardello & Co., a consulting firm specializing in investigations, to assess Burisma’s “corporate structure and governance practices.”

Aleksander Kwasniewski, the former president of Poland, sat on the board of Burisma at the time and recruited Hunter as a non-executive director because of his advisory work for the gas company, the statement said. “At no time was Hunter in charge of the company’s legal affairs,” it said.

Hunter Biden also sought to counter increasing Trump campaign attacks on his ties to China. He denied Trump’s repeated allegations that he procured $1.5 billion from China for a private equity fund after he flew on Air Force Two with his father in December 2013 to Beijing.

He serves on the board of BHR (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management Company, which was set up in 2013 to invest Chinese capital outside China. He previously acknowledged meeting with Jonathan Li, a Chinese banker and partner in the fund, during the 2013 trip but has said it was a social visit and they didn’t talk business.

BHR has the backing of several Chinese state-owned companies. Trump’s claim that Hunter walked away with $1.5 billion from China appears to be based on a fundraising target that BHR announced in 2014. But BHR never raised a discreet pool of capital, Mesires said, and instead raised money deal by deal. BHR now says it manages about $2.1 billion in investments.

Biden denied he played a role in forming the company or having any equity in it while his father was vice president. The board position was unpaid, he said. After his father’s term ended in 2017, Biden bought 10% of the management company for about $420,000. He hasn’t made money from the venture to date, the statement said.

He announced he’ll resign from the BHR board on Oct. 31. He didn’t comment on whether he would retain his equity stake, but his pledge to not do any foreign work under a Biden Administration indicates he would sell the stake if his father wins.

Biden’s pledge to avoid foreign work if his father wins the White House sets him apart from Trump’s children, who have continued working with foreign business partners from Dubai to Indonesia and India while his father sits in the White House. After Trump won the presidency in 2016, he handed the running of the Trump Organization to his sons, Don Jr. and Eric, and said they wouldn’t do any new overseas deals.

But they have continued to push the Trump Organization’s existing foreign deals, including visits to promote luxury resorts in Indonesia, condo sales in India and an expansion of their golf resort in Scotland.

Trump has launched increasingly personal attacks on Hunter as Democrats in the Houses of Representatives ramp up their impeachment inquiry examining the president’s pressuring of Ukraine’s president to investigate what he claims is corruption by the Bidens in the country. At a rally in Minnesota this week, Trump lashed out at the Democratic front-runner’s son, taunting him over his personal struggles with drug use and his low profile during his father’s campaign.

“Whatever happened to Hunter? Where the hell is he?” Trump bellowed at the crowd. “Let’s do another t-shirt. Where’s Hunter?” Soon after the rally, Trump’s 2020 campaign website started selling $25 t-shirts emblazoned with “Where’s Hunter?”

Despite continuing to advance their own foreign business deals while their father is in the White House, the Trump sons have joined in on the attacks, accusing Hunter Biden of using his family name for personal gain while his father was vice president.

“At the VERY LEAST, there’s an appearance of impropriety,” Don Jr. Tweeted.

At the rally in Minneapolis, Eric Trump attacked Hunter, whipping up the crowd with chants of “Lock him up,” a replay of his father’s familiar campaign stump speech targeting Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Joe Biden has defended his son and vowed to make him a visible part of his campaign. “He’s a fine man. He’s been through hell,” Biden told the Reno Gazette Journal earlier this month. “I’m also confident the American people know me, and they know my son.”

 

[aragorn]

James O’keefe’s Project Veritas is in an hour or so going to release what they are saying is their biggest exposure so far, this time about CNN. James is saying that an insider has recorded with a hidden camera for months, witnessing the ‘rampant bias’. Not sure what to expect, but here’s the ‘trailer’:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1183551613216145408

 

[aragorn]

After watching the clips that has been released by Veritas so far, I’m not that impressed. Sure, there is smoke in the form of employee testimonials of Zucker’s bias, but so far the videos don’t feature any ‘bomb shells’ imo. There’s nothing that we didn’t already know. I hope they are saving the best for the last.

 

[Ant22]

President Trump throws sanctions around like it's Halloween candy, targeting those America's war machine doesn't like. This time he wants to sanction Turkey over targeting Kurds in Syria. Any chance he'll impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia over their targeting Yemeni civilians? No? Didn't think so.

Trump Promises 'Big Sanctions on Turkey Coming' Over Syria Offensive

The US president earlier announced that he was working with the Congress to impose "powerful" sanctions on Turkey over its offensive in northern Syria, targeting Kurdish forces there. Ankara insists that the military operation is aimed at...

sputniknews.com

The US president earlier announced that he was working with the Congress to impose "powerful" sanctions on Turkey over its offensive in northern Syria, targeting Kurdish forces there. Ankara insists that the military operation is aimed at combating terrorist forces, threatening the country.

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his earlier promises, by stating that "big" sanctions will be slapped on Turkey over its "Operation Peace Spring" in Syria. He argued that sanctions are better than going to war with Turkey, who is a NATO member, once again vowing to end the trend of US getting into "endless wars" around the world.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1183702529403695104

Trump also dismissed concerns that Daesh* prisoners, held by Kurds, could escape during the chaos of fighting with Turkish forces and even alleged that Kurds might release some of them intentionally to "get [the US] involved". The US president insisted that in the event some of these prisoners flee, they can always be recaptured by either Turkey or by the "European Nations from where many [of them] came".

The POTUS’ statements come in line with his previous promises to avoid US involvement in costly "endless wars" abroad, as well as to respond to Turkey in strong manner over its offensive in Syria's north. He stated on 13 October that he was working with Congress on both sides of the aisle to come up with "powerful" sanctions against Ankara.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1183709210602823680

The US is not alone in plans to slap sanctions on Turkey over its military operation in Syria, with the EU and Arab league also mulling such options. The European Council is expected to discuss possible sanctions during its meetings on 17-18 October.

At the same time, Turkey warned other countries, specifically the US, against imposing economic measures against it vowing to retaliate. Ankara added that no outside pressure will force it to abandon the military operation since it's a matter of the country's national security.
Turkey started its military manoeuvre dubbed "Operation Peace Spring" on 9 October claiming to target terrorists in northern Syria east of the Euphrates. Among the groups designated as terrorist by Turkey are mostly Kurdish forces, which as Ankara insists, are linked to the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK), also deemed a terrorist outfit by Turkey. The majority of Western and Arab countries have condemned the Turkish military operation.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia

Army units move north to confront Turkish aggression on Syrian territory, Hasaka locals celebrate

Hasaka, SANA - Syrian Arab Army units began moving north to confront Turkish aggression on Syrian territory, SANA's reporter in Hasaka said on Sunday. Upon the announcement of this news, the people of Hasaka began celebrating through holding marches in the neighborhoods of the city, welcoming thi

sana.sy

Hasaka, SANA – Syrian Arab Army units began moving north to confront Turkish aggression on Syrian territory, SANA’s reporter in Hasaka said on Sunday.

Upon the announcement of this news, the people of Hasaka began celebrating through holding marches in the neighborhoods of the city, welcoming this move to confront the Turkish aggression.

Meanwhile, in Qamishli, the locals took to the streets in expression of their happiness and welcome of the declaration of the move of the Syrian Arab Army to confront the Turkish offensive, affirming that the army is the only protector of the homeland which is able to defend it in the face of the aggression.

This movement comes to confront the ongoing Turkish aggression on towns and areas in the north of Hasaka and Raqqa provinces, where the Turkish forces committed massacres against locals, occupied some areas, and destroyed infrastructure.

In the same context, Sheikh of al-Bakkara Tribe Nouri Khaled al-Talla’a, Sheikh Said al-Fahid of al-Sharabin Tribes and Sheikh of al-Mahasen Tribe in al-Shadadi Rafi’a al-Hamdyia and members of al-Jabbour Tribe called for supporting and standing by the Syrian army in the face of the Turkish aggression against the Syrian territories.

They affirmed that the Syrian Arab Army is the guarantor of the homeland’s security, expressing condemnation of the offensive launched by the Turkish regime.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1183647090762752001

Russia has ruled out conflict with Turkey:

'Our approach hasn't changed': Kremlin rules out potential conflict with Turkey in Syria

Russia has consistently supported the process of political settlement in Syria and vehemently opposed any steps that could potentially harm it, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in the wake of the ongoing Turkish operation.

“There is absolutely nothing new about Russia’s approach to this issue,” Peskov told the Russian media, commenting on the developments in northern Syria, where Turkish forces have launched an offensive against the Kurdish militias holding the area, who are considered terrorists by Ankara.

The Russian president’s spokesman said that, from the very beginning of Turkey’s ‘Operation Peace Spring’, Moscow has been pointing out that “any actions that could hamper or stall the process of political settlement in Syria and further escalate tensions” there are “absolutely undesirable.”

At the same time, he made it clear that Russia “does not even consider” a possibility of a potential military conflict with Turkey in Syria. The spokesman said that the two nations have close contacts both between diplomats and the military that would help them avoid such a development.

However, Moscow has also clarified it did not approve of Turkey’s plans to occupy Syrian towns as part of its operation. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry denied reports that Russia has no objections against a Turkish assault on the Kurdish-held city of Kobani.

The notion had previously appeared in the Turkish media, citing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as in Al Jazeera and Western outlets like the New York Times. But the Russian ministry said the issue of Kobani “was not discussed” with Turkey, and branded the media reports “fake.”

His words came amid the news that the Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria allegedly reached an agreement with Damascus for Syrian government troops to be deployed along the border with Turkey. The Syrian Army already moved towards the border, entering the city of Manbij in the northern province of Aleppo late on Sunday, according to some reports.

On Sunday, Turkish Defense Ministry claimed its troops already pushed 30-35km into the Kurdish-held territory – well beyond its proposed 30km ‘safe zone.’ Turkey’s advances led to an exodus of Kurdish civilians from the area.

The Kurds were also reported to have abandoned the camps where Islamic State’s militants were held. Such a development sparked some concerns in Moscow as President Vladimir Putin previously warned that the Turkish offensive could contribute to the resurgence of the terrorist organization.

On a different note, Syrian Arab Army forces met retreating US Army forces on a highway

https://twitter.com/x/status/1183988373137920001

 

[aragorn]

In the recent Syrian War Report by South Front they are saying that there are clear signs of an agreement being made between the Trump administration and Turkey, that Turkey's advancement/attack is actually done in cooperation with the US (with the US troops leaving). If this is true, the recent talks about sanctions on Turkey by Trump might just be a smoke screen to make him look tough, and to appease the 'deep state' war mongers who want to continue US presence in Syria. There are already reports of Syrian forces capturing towns in the north – could this attack by Turkey, which forces the SDF troops to retreat, be a sneaky way to remove the (CIA) mercenaries and other rogue fighters from North and East of Syria, and to restore balance in the region?

I don't know the answer, but I do find it curious that the usual MSM mouthpieces and democrat politicians are now howling about how Trump betrayed the Kurds, and how the Kurds should be helped etc.

 

[turiya]

This has been part of what is called Trump's '5D chess moves'.

Keep in mind he is up against not only the Deep State / Military-Industrial Complex, the Never-Trump Obama hangovers, those of the so-called 'Resistance' (long-term bureaucratic government positions that are into obstructing whatever Trump wants to put in place), but the MSM Fake News outlets. Trump has called these MSM Fake News outlets 'the true enemy of the people'.

Remember, the missile strike in Syria? It caused very little damage to Syria's infrastructure. As airports were back up in full operation within hours after the attack. Trump could not come out and tell the MSM the real purpose of this strike. The missile attack targeted Deep State operations.

Remember how the MSM reacted to this missile strike? Here's a good example:

Now, we have the MSM Fake News news outlet - ABC - caught red-handed attempting to distort the reality of what is taking place in Syria w/ Turkish forces... using footage from a firing range, here, in America in an attempt to show that this was happening in Syria...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1183709131586396165

And Trump is on top of this...

 

[Windmill knight]

In the recent Syrian War Report by South Front they are saying that there are clear signs of an agreement being made between the Trump administration and Turkey, that Turkey's advancement/attack is actually done in cooperation with the US (with the US troops leaving). If this is true, the recent talks about sanctions on Turkey by Trump might just be a smoke screen to make him look tough, and to appease the 'deep state' war mongers who want to continue US presence in Syria. There are already reports of Syrian forces capturing towns in the north – could this attack by Turkey, which forces the SDF troops to retreat, be a sneaky way to remove the (CIA) mercenaries and other rogue fighters from North and East of Syria, and to restore balance in the region?

The way I see it, Trump and the US military realize they can't really stop Turkey from doing whatever they want in Syria. I mean, what are they going to do? Go to war with Turkey for the Kurds? Nope. So Trump, knowing he was forced to pull out of the area, simply took the opportunity to declare (again) that they were pulling out of Syria. He probably won't be allowed to pull out completely, but one can only hope.

Personally, I don't think there is any secret coordination with Turkey. Erdogan is a loose cannon and quite bent on getting rid of Kurdish militias. Trump has his good moments but is no genius and half the establishment is against him. So I think it's simpler to assume these politicians are thinking about things, but not too much, and just doing the best they can with what they got.

I don't know the answer, but I do find it curious that the usual MSM mouthpieces and democrat politicians are now howling about how Trump betrayed the Kurds, and how the Kurds should be helped etc.

That's because the MSM will take any and every opportunity to attack Trump. Had he decided to confront Turkey, he would be criticized for risking to ignite a major war in the region with a NATO ally, putting American lives at risk or whatever.

 

[turiya]

Trump and the US military realize they can't really stop Turkey from doing whatever they want in Syria. I mean, what are they going to do?

Putin is an ally to Assad in Syria, and Erdoğan won't do any against Syria without the consent from Putin. The Kurds will naturally move to making closer ties to Assad's Syria. Balance of power prevails. This makes it entirely possible for Trump to easily move troops out of Syrian / Middle East situation regardless of how much the war-mongering Dems & Republican Neocon/Rhinos want to howl & scream about Trump abandoning the Kurds.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1183130243885875200

Trump carries a big economic stick. That is his weapon of choice.
I think Trump & Putin are on the same page & working together on this behind the scenes.

 

[aragorn]

Turkey's advance in Syria is apparently very much "something that some people don't like". I'm still not sure why, but the order is clearly given: Turkey should be condemned on all fronts. When the usual suspects suddenly 'defend minorities', being oh-so-compassionate, there's definitely something fishy going on. I'm sure no one here believes that these parties really care about any population, anywhere. In this recent article on RT we learn for example that:

- UK govt halts exports to Turkey of arms that ‘might be used in military operations’ against the Kurds in Syria
- Germany, France and Finland, who pledged on Monday to stop arms sales to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkish government
- A similar ban on arms exports to Turkey was introduced days earlier by Germany and France. The Spanish government on Tuesday said it would not approve sales to Turkey if it believes the weapons could be used in the anti-Kurdish operation in Syria. Italy said it will not sell arms to Turkey either.

UK govt halts exports to Turkey of arms that ‘might be used in military operations’ against the Kurds in Syria

UK PM Boris Johnson’s government has suspended the granting of arms export licences to Turkey for any hardware that could be used in military operations against Kurdish forces in northern Syria.

www.rt.com

 

[Cosmos]

A couple of weeks ago, Erdogan basically spelled out what his plan is in the north of Syria in front of the UN, while also making it clear that borders don't seem to be respected at the UN, citing Israel as prime example. I think it would be worthwhile to watch what he said there.

In case you have missed it, since almost no media outlets reported about it, Erdogan trashed Israel at the UN a couple of days ago, holding up the famous map of the progressive theft of Palestinian land by Israel and asked the simple but obvious question, paraphrasing "where do the borders of Israel actually start and where do they end"? [...]

Here is his speech starting at the point when he covers the Syrian situation and what his plans are:

 

[angelburst29]

I don't know the answer, but I do find it curious that the usual MSM mouthpieces and democrat politicians are now howling about how Trump betrayed the Kurds, and how the Kurds should be helped etc.

I might be over-playing my hand but the answer you seek - might be here?

NSC Official: US Sees Kurdish Nation Another Israel in Region
The US should never stop support for Kurdish militias in the Middle East as a Kurdish nation across Syria, Iraq and Turkey would be "another Israel in the region", a National Security Council official stated after President Donald Trump gave a green light to Ankara to launch a military operation against Washington's long-time Kurdish allies in Northern Syria

"To be honest with you, it would be better for the United States to support a Kurdish nation across Turkey, Syria and Iraq," the unnamed National Security Council official told Newsweek, adding, "It would be another Israel in the region."

If the accusations are false - why resign? ... (Gotcha! ) )

Hunter Biden Calls Trump’s Accusations ‘A Barrage of False Charges’, Resigns from Chinese Equity Firm

Mon Oct 14, 2019 - Hunter Biden, son of 2020 US Democratic candidate Joe Biden, stepped down from the board of a Chinese equity company while defending his work in Ukraine – the work that President Donald Trump said was “crooked”.

“He never anticipated the barrage of false charges against both him and his father by the President of the United States,”
Biden’s lawyer George Mesires wrote in a statement released on Sunday, RT reported.

Speaking through Mesires, Biden stated that he is to resign from the board of a Chinese-backed private equity company, and would also “forego all foreign work” if his father is elected president next year.

The company was granted a Chinese business license and raised more than a billion dollars days after Joe Biden flew to China in 2013 as Vice President.

Trump has also called on Ukraine to reopen a corruption investigation into Burisma, an energy firm that paid Hunter $50,000 per month to sit on its board between 2015 and 2019, despite his apparent lack of qualifications in the field.

Trump has accused Joe Biden of wielding his political influence to land Hunter the job and of threatening to withhold military aid to Ukraine in a bid to have the corruption investigation quashed.

He’s also continued to tweet personal jibes at the Bidens, on Sunday posting that Hunter “has totally disappeared! Now looks like he has raided and scammed even more countries! Media is AWOL”.

Trump: Ukraine Whistleblower Must Testify in Congress, Reveal Identity

Mon Oct 14, 2019 - US President Donald Trump called to determine the identity of the whistleblower who filed a complaint about the Trump-Zelensky call this summer, stressing that the whistleblower must testify before Congress.

"Adam Schiff now doesn’t seem to want the Whistleblower to testify. NO! Must testify to explain why he got my Ukraine conversation sooo wrong, not even close. Did Schiff tell him to do that? We must determine the Whistleblower’s identity to determine WHY this was done to the USA...," Trump tweeted, according to Sputnik.

"....Democrat’s game was foiled when we caught Schiff fraudulently making up my Ukraine conversation, when I released the exact conversation Transcript, and when Ukrainian President and the Foreign Minister said there was NO PRESSURE, very normal talk! A total Impeachment Scam!" he tweeted.

Report: Bolton Told Ex-Trump Aide to Call White House Lawyers About Ukraine Pressure Campaign

Tue Oct 15, 2019 - Former National Security Adviser John Bolton told a former aide to President Donald Trump on Russia to call White House lawyers to warn them about a pressure campaign on Ukraine, House investigators were reportedly told Monday.

Bolton told Fiona Hill, the senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs, to contact the lawyer for the National Security Council and say that the president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was involved in the efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating Democrats, The New York Times reported Monday night.

“I am not part of whatever drug deal Rudy and [Mick] Mulvaney are cooking up,” Bolton told Hill to tell White House lawyers, according to the testimony reported by The NY Times.

The former national security adviser had called Giuliani a "hand grenade who's going to blow everybody up" in a previous conversation with Hill, according to the newspaper.

Hill testified for 10 hours behind closed doors on Monday as part of the impeachment inquiry into Trump, following allegations that the US president had asked Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.

The report identified Giuliani as a central figure in the effort to push Ukraine to investigate.

Bolton Warned Lawyers over 'Hand Grenade' Giuliani: Report
Bolton Warned Lawyers over 'Hand Grenade' Giuliani: Report - Other Media news - Tasnim News Agency

October, 15, 2019 - The White House's alleged effort to pressure Ukraine so alarmed former national security adviser John Bolton that he alerted a lawyer, his former aide said on Monday, according to US media.

Bolton also warned that President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who has emerged as the point man in the president's alleged drive to pressure Ukraine to dig up dirt on Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden, is "a hand grenade who's going to blow everyone up," his aide Fiona Hill told lawmakers, according to the New York Times.

The remark, which was also reported by NBC News, came after Trump's former top Russia advisor Hill sat for an hours-long closed door deposition before US lawmakers probing whether to impeach the president.

Following a "sharp exchange" with US ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who was working with Giuliani on the pressure campaign, Bolton instructed Hill to notify a National Security Council lawyer, according to the Times.

Referring to acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Bolton also said that "I am not part of whatever drug deal Rudy and Mulvaney are cooking up," the Times reported, citing two sources familiar with Hill's deposition.

Her testimony came after allegations that Trump pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens in a July 25 phone call, which sparked an impeachment inquiry by the House of Representatives.

On Monday evening, Giuliani said, "I don't know Fiona and can't figure out what she is talking about," and that the State Department arranged all his contacts with Ukraine, according to The Washington Post.

Last week, the Times reported that Giuliani was himself under federal investigation for his dealings with Kiev on Trump's behalf.


This next article goes into more depth on the Biden's in the Ukraine. The deal with Hunter is just an example. There's an IMF loan (International Monetary Fund) to the tune of about 1.7 billion dollars that had been pocketed by the American supporters of Poroshenko, meaning Joe Biden and his ilk. Also, Ukraine is/was the second home for CrowdStrike, the cyber-security company connected to Hillary.

The Biden Affair in the Ukraine
The Biden Affair in the Ukraine

Vice President Joe Biden meeting with Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko in New York, Sep 29, 2015

September 30, 2019 - The Borderlands of the Ukraine have been a decisive battlefield for centuries. Here Stockholm, Berlin and Moscow vied for dominance. Karl XII had lost here to Peter the Great; Stalin defeated Hitler; now the Clintonites are likely to suffer in the Ukraine their ultimate defeat. The Democrats had made their biggest political mistake of the century in attacking Trump for the Biden affair — that is, if the Americans retain any common sense.

Vice-President Biden extorted millions of dollars in personal bribes from the vulnerable Ukrainian client state. When this sordid affair came under investigation, he blackmailed Ukrainians, using his position and American taxpayer money to force the sovereign state to fire its Attorney General for investigating the bribes.

Instead of covering their face in shame and dismissing Biden as a potential party candidate in the 2020 race, the Dems led by the superannuated Mrs Pelosi decided to impeach the President for uncovering this rogue. In the well-remembered flick Dirty Harry the lawyers tried to save a criminal by attacking the policeman who didn’t observe the niceties of a Miranda warning. This was the model for the Dems in their impeachment attempt.

Biden’s criminal extortion wasn’t a secret. He boasted of this racket at a public occasion. He famously admitted that:

I said, I’m telling you [the Ukrainian leaders], you’re not getting the billion dollars. I said, you’re not getting the billion. I’m going to be leaving here in, I think it was about six hours. I looked at them and said: I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money. Well, son of a bitch. (Laughter.) He got fired. And they put in place someone who was solid at the time.

The Ukrainians put in place someone who was solid at the time, so solid that he terminated the investigation of Burisma oil company. This company was the vessel to transfer bribes to VP Biden, via his son Hunter Biden. John Solomon of The Hill wrote:

“U.S. banking records show Hunter Biden’s American-based firm, Rosemont Seneca Partners LLC, received regular transfers into one of its accounts — usually more than $166,000 a month — from Burisma from spring 2014 through fall 2015, during a period when Vice President Biden was the main U.S. official dealing with Ukraine and its tense relations with Russia.”

The fired prosecutor Mr Viktor Shokin said that Biden fils had been under investigation. After he was dismissed due to Biden père interference, the money continued to pour out of poor Ukrainian pockets to well-stuffed Biden coffers. My Kiev acquaintances had a memory of a good-for-nothing young man, keen on coke and broads, who by himself would never get such a salary.
John Solomon of The Hill wrote:

You would ask, why Biden admitted to the crime? He considered himself untouchable like Mrs Clinton and other people of her circle.
Mischievous President Trump decided to prosecute Biden for bribery and extortion, as if he were an ordinary mortal. This was a direct threat to the Clintonites (let us use this nickname for the power variously described as Democrats, Liberals, Internationals, financiers, Masters of Discourse or Deep State). This challenge caused them to abandon caution and to start a furious pre-emptive campaign against cocky Trump.

Their accusation is outright ridiculous: they claim Trump’s intention to bring Corrupt Joe to justice was criminal per se, as Biden was a likely contender for the Dem nomination. As it happens, the US Constitution didn’t find it fit to provide likely contenders with full immunity for past and future crime prosecutions. It’s just the Clintonites were used to be above the law. Indeed, for three years President Trump avoided to touch them. Crimes of Mrs Clinton were well known, from the simple affair of the email server to the Libya murders.

It was expected victorious Trump would unleash the law against the defeated dowager for Mrs. Clinton’s role in the Obama administration’s decision to allow the Russian nuclear agency to buy a uranium mining company. Conservatives have long pointed to donations to the Clinton family foundation by people associated with the company, Uranium One, as proof of corruption, reported the New York Times. The Clintonites saved the old lady’s skin by starting the Russiagate hoax. In 2016 election debate Trump told Clinton that, if he was in charge of the nation’s laws, “you’d be in jail”. But a year later he was in charge, and she wasn’t in jail, not even charged. The ruse of Russiagate worked wonders: the President accused of collusion with Russia did not dare to charge his adversary with this very offence.

Now the Clintonites decided to repeat their feat and began impeachment procedure hoping it will keep Trump busy and away from uncovering the Ukrainian Hell’s Kitchen.

What actually had happened in the Ukraine? In 2014, Clintonites had managed the regime change in this former Soviet republic. They removed the legitimate president by using the full spectre of illegal operations. The Ukraine became a Clintonite colony, and Joe Biden their viceroy in the Ukraine. Biden’s involvement in the coup d’état was his biggest crime, but nobody speaks of that,
noticed Joe Lauria. They had turned Ukraine against Russia and instigated the civil war in the East of the poor country, despite strong efforts of president Putin to keep Russia out of Ukrainian turmoil. But they also gave a thought to personal profiteering, like they did in Russia in 1990.

Joe Biden had been treated royally in Kiev. He was asked to chair government meetings and proudly sat on the Presidential seat. The Ukrainians are not famous for their subtlety. Nice people, but rather simple ones, even by East European measure. They became involved in 2016 election campaign on the Clintonite side. There is no doubt VP Biden was the man who directed this “foreign involvement in the US elections”. The obliging Ukrainians delivered to him the dirt on Paul Manafort, and Manafort went to jail.

The Ukraine is the second home for CrowdStrike, the cyber-security company that was instrumental in accusing Russia of meddling. Its founder and head, a Russian Jew and American citizen Dmitry Alperovich is a pathological Russia hater on the model of Masha Gessen and Max Boot. People in Kiev say he had built the case against Russia on the strength of a single server allegedly used for hacking the DNC. The server is located in the Ukraine, not in Russia. President Trump asked for its whereabouts in his conversation with the Ukrainian President Mr Zelensky.

The subject of the server makes many people in the Clintonite camp extremely nervous. They already marked it with “conspiracy” marker, meaning you may not touch it. In another “conspiracy debunking” item they created a straw man, saying “the notion that there is some missing “server,” and that the server might exist somewhere—like in Ukraine—has no basis in reality. The DNC’s network consisted of many servers and computers”. However, the server Trump asked about is not the DNC server, but the server allegedly used to hack DNC server. It had left some Russian-language traces, and it was presented as a proof of Russian involvement. But Alperovich’s hackers in the Ukraine also use Russian as their working language, and this allowed the Russia-hating Jew an opportunity to create the whole chain of “proofs” of Russian hackers’ activity with fancy names. Recovery of the server would put paid to the whole myth of Russian hacking, and would make the Clintonite case untenable.

Alperovich, obsessed with his hatred, could cook the case of Russian meddling, but it had to be ordered and utilized by somebody up the feeding chain, most probably Joe Biden. And now Joe Biden, the real criminal, who took bribes and blackmailed the friendly state officials, who orchestrated foreign involvement in the US elections, went on to become the leading contender for Dem party.

The Dems claimed Trump threatened to withdraw funds from the Ukraine if they won’t cooperate with the US enquiry. This claim had been debunked after the full transcript of two Presidents’ chat had been published. But even if it were sterling truth, it would be business as usual for the US. You probably remember the threats of cutting aid that were issued by the US representative in the UN in order to force sovereign states to vote for Israel. The execrable Nicky Haley said, ‘The US will be taking names’, and Donald Trump added his own threats to cut aid.

How could they find fault in Trump allegedly threatening to cut aid to Ukraine if they think Biden was perfectly all right for doing exactly that? But these guys aren’t playing cricket.

The forthcoming Presidential race is becoming a global affair, it seems. In so many countries the US influence had been delivered by agents of Clintonite clan, and all of them are tempted to do what the Clintonites ask, that is to help them to undermine President Trump. In the Ukraine, the struggle of Clintonites and Trumpers is far from over. President Zelensky promised President Trump to help him; but the oligarchs of the Ukraine are in Clintonite camp.

All but one: Igor (Benny) Kolomoysky, a maverick Jewish oligarch and a friend of the President, is an enemy of Clintonites. He also stands against IMF, International Monetary Fund, the powerful bankers’ body that issued many loans to the Ukraine. Just this year, Kiev has to pay six billion dollars to the IMF to remain solvent, and IMF refused to refinance it. The loans were mainly stolen by the gang of the former President, Mr Poroshenko. People in Kiev say that about 1.7 billion dollars of the latest loan had been pocketed by the American supporters of Poroshenko, meaning Joe Biden and his ilk. Now Mr Kolomoysky suggests the new Ukrainian president may default on IMF loans.

Kolomoysky is also the only oligarch who is not in bed with the liberals. The balance of power in the Ukraine is not in favour of Trumpers. The Ukrainians like to back winners; once they made a mistake supporting Mrs Clinton, as they were sure she would win. Perhaps they will make this mistake again. It would depend on the actual Dem contender. Joe Biden had cooked his goose by taking too many bribes in the Ukraine, but another contender may have a better chance, the Ukrainians think. Mrs Warren, perhaps?

They even fiddle with the idea of Mrs Hillary Clinton running again and winning this time. The Ukrainian oligarchs, and first of all Mr Victor Pinchuk, a Jewish billionaire from Dnepro city, No. 1 among the rich Ukrainians, would do anything for her. He contributed many millions to her fund; he finances the Atlantic Council, the Clintonite think-tank, fighting against Russia and Euro-sceptics. He is ‘the wealthy businessman’ Trump referred to in his talk with Mr Zelensky. Judging by Trump’s interest in the Ukrainian server, the President is aware that the old lady is still able to do some mischief, and his promise to take her to jail is still unfulfilled.

It is possible in the presidential race 2020, the Dems will use drafting technique, as the long-distance runners (or bikers, or cross-country skiers) do. The first leading contender (in our case, Biden) would get the flak, get exhausted, and in the last moment he would withdraw from the race yielding the nomination to his well-rested comrade, be it Warren or Clinton or whoever. Bearing that in mind, Trumpers could keep some of the ammo they have on Biden (and there is a lot to find in the Ukraine) until (or rather if) he gets the nomination.