McGovern Addresses Future of U.S. Policy in Middle East

Ray McGovern was interviewed this afternoon on likely U.S. foreign policy in Middle East under Biden, in contrast to Trump..  He noted that the MICIMATT (Military-Industrial-Congressional-Intelligence-MEDIA-Academia-Think-Tank) complex and the Israel lobby will still be calling the shots no matter who is president.  Ray reviewed what has been happening over the past decade in Syria as Exhibit A; also discusses likely policy toward Iran, suggesting that the Israel Lobby will make it very difficult for a Biden administration to slide back into the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA).
The Critical Hour, Oct. 20, 13 min.

DISGRACE: Former intel seniors DOUBLE DOWN FOR DEMS

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/19/hunter-biden-story-russian-disinfo-430276

The former senior spooks admit, “We do not have evidence of Russian involvement, but L’affaire Hunter-Hard-Drive has “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation”.

Those skeptical of spooks, and generally aware of their record of malfeasance, abetted by the MSM, should read:
https://consortiumnews.com/2020/10/19/patrick-lawrence-the-damage-russiagate-has-done/

and watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0mwsrCsziQ&feature=emb_err_woyt

DOJ: Trump’s ‘total declassification’ of Russiagate docs has no effect

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/13/doj-trumps-declassification-russiagate-429257

DOJ attorneys told a judge that the White House Counsel’s Office effectively told DOJ to disregard Trump’s tweets on the matter.

By Kyle Cheney

What happened: When Donald Trump tweeted last week that he authorized the “total declassification of any & all documents” related to the long-running Russia investigation and Hillary Clinton’s emails – “No redactions!” he tweeted – he really didn’t mean it, the Justice Department argued in court Tuesday.

DOJ attorneys told a judge that the White House Counsel’s Office effectively told DOJ to disregard Trump’s tweets on the matter. They weren’t accompanied by an actual declassification order, and DOJ will proceed as though the tweets hadn’t occurred, continuing to redact and release documents at its discretion.

“The White House Counsel’s Office informed the Department that there is no order requiring wholesale declassification or disclosure of documents at issue in this matter,” Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer wrote in a filing with Judge Reggie Walton, who had ordered the DOJ to clarify its position after the president’s tweets.

The background: Walton is presiding over a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by BuzzFeed’s Jason Leopold seeking the disclosure of redacted portions of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the 2016 Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia, as well as its underlying documents.

The White House’s position cuts against Trump’s emphatic tweet, which came amid a remarkable string of invective (https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/07/trump-demands-barr-arrest-foes-427389) aimed at his political allies — as well as demands that his Justice Department indict and prosecute his political rivals, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.

“I have fully authorized the total Declassification of any & all documents pertaining to the single greatest political CRIME in American History, the Russia Hoax,” Trump said. “Likewise, the Hillary Clinton Email Scandal. No redactions!”

The tweet drew immediate accolades from some of Trump’s closest allies, who have long claimed hidden documents would expose the Russia investigation as a politically motivated assault on the Trump presidency. But DOJ made clear that Trump’s pronouncement had no actual force.

“The Attorney General has not ordered the declassification and release of any of the redacted material in this case based on the President’s tweets,” Weinsheimer wrote. “The Department was further informed that the President’s statements on Twitter do not require altering any redactions on any record at issue in this case, including but not limited to, any redactions taken pursuant to any discretionary FOIA exemptions.”

Cowardly Media Mum re Star Chamber Treatment of Assange

British poodles, masquerading as jurists, continue to take direction from the U.S. Department of Justice and do U.S. bidding — demeaning themselves and despoiling what is left of the Magna Carta and British jurisprudence..

The stakes are extraordinarily high — not only for journalists’ freedom of speech, but also for the scandalous example set in applying bareknuckled, kick-him-while-he’s-down torture techniques to those with the courage to publish documents disclosing government crimes.

MintPress writer Alan MacLeod recently called attention to the crassly political nature of the persecution of Julian. MacLeod cited former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s inadvertently candid admission:

“All you can do is hope you can ultimately take action against those that were involved in revealing that information so you can send a message to others not to do the same thing.”

The U.S.-UK extradition treaty states that “extradition shall not be granted if the offense for which extradition is requested constitutes a political offense”.

Besides, for God’s sake, Julian Assange is a human being!  What comes to mind are the desperate words of Willy Loman’s wife Linda in “Death of a Salesman”:

“He’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He’s not to be allowed to fall in his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person.”

Please, someone tell the U.S. media.

I discussed this and related issues in an interview with “The Critical Hour”.
Sept. 28, 2020 (14 minutes)