Brief on Senate confirmation hearings: Part one.

Brief on Senate confirmation hearings: Part one.

This week has been a fast and furious hearing process mixed with an intense news cycle. Over the past few days, many future agency leaders have made the rounds in Congress and underwent extensive questioning in the Senate chambers. Here’s a quick rundown of these hearings. Senator Jeff Sessions The Sen. Sessions interview went fairly […]

The U.N. can find balance in the Middle East

The U.N. can find balance in the Middle East

The United Nations Security Council last month passed Resolution 2334, which states that Israeli settlements have “no legal basis.” The resolution made the mistake of only looking at one side of the map. To complete the job, the U.N. should pass a resolution that condemns Palestinian maximalist claims with the same sharp legal language it […]

US Intelligence Officials brief members of Congress on Russian election interference.

US Intelligence Officials brief members of Congress on Russian election interference.

Last night, Rep. Lieu (D-CA) released an official statement outlining his stance on Russian involvement in the election. He did so after reviewing an intelligence document concerning Russia’s involvement in the US Presidential election. He released the following statement: I have now read the highly classified intelligence report on Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in […]

US levies sanctions against Syria for using chemical weapons on their own people

US levies sanctions against Syria for using chemical weapons on their own people

The United States formally “blacklisted” eighteen Syrian officials that have been tied to the use of chemical weapons on Thursday, as well as five governmental organizations.  These first sanctions against the Syrian government for the use of weapons of mass destruction came as a result of an international investigation that found the Syrian government had […]

Trump’s cabinet nominees diverge on Russia, security issues

Trump’s cabinet nominees diverge on Russia, security issues

WASHINGTON—Donald Trump’s picks for top national security posts diverged from the president-elect’s positions on key issues during confirmation hearings a week before the inauguration, increasing uncertainty about what policies the incoming administration would pursue, even on matters almost entirely under White House control. Retired Gen. James Mattis, the secretary of defense nominee; Rex Tillerson, named […]

Russians named in Trump dossier dismiss claims

Russians named in Trump dossier dismiss claims

MOSCOW—Russians named in an unverified dossier on President-elect Donald Trump reacted with incredulity to allegations they were tied to Kremlin-led efforts to interfere with the U.S. elections. The dossier contains claims that Russian officials have compromising evidence about Mr. Trump’s behavior that could be used to blackmail him, and that the Kremlin colluded with members […]

The five biggest takeaways from General Mattis’ confirmation hearing

The five biggest takeaways from General Mattis’ confirmation hearing

The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing Thursday on whether to confirm Gen. James Mattis as the next defense secretary, and plenty of interesting bits came out of the roughly three-hour session. The retired four-star general gave frank and concise answers on everything from cybersecurity policy to what he expects will be the biggest […]

Justice Department inspector general to investigate pre-election actions by department and FBI

Justice Department inspector general to investigate pre-election actions by department and FBI

The Justice Department inspector general will review broad allegations of misconduct involving FBI Director James B. Comey and how he handled the probe of Hillary Clinton’s email practices, the inspector general announced Thursday. The investigation will be wide-ranging, encompassing Comey’s various letters and public statements on the matter and whether FBI or other Justice Department […]

Unverified intelligence report implicates Trump in Russian hacking

Unverified intelligence report implicates Trump in Russian hacking

Last night, Buzzfeed published an unverified report laying out significant ties between President Elect Donald Trump and various members of the Russian government.  Included in the report were allegations ranging from Trump participating in “perverted sexual acts” to his involvement in the hacking of the DNC’s e-mail servers, and how Russian officials have worked to […]

Leading up to change of power we hear Russia more often than anything.

Leading up to change of power we hear Russia more often than anything.

I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. But, there’s an array of threats out there and some that we have a semblance of control over. Russia is not one of those threats at the moment. In a governmental flux – and the new heads of agencies and leaders probably don’t […]