Conways Announcement: KellyAnne Leaving White House And George Withdrawing From The Lincoln Project

White House Senior Advisor KellyAnne Conway and her husband anti-Trump Lincoln Project founder and lawyer George Conway made a stunning announcement Sunday night that both were leaving their very public and divided political positions to spend more time with their children.

KellyAnne posted her announcement on Twitter in a dropbox PDF belonging to her husbands account. In her announcement, which was not written on formal White House stationary she stated that her children must come first.

“I’m leaving the White House,” KellyAnne Conway said. “Gratefully & Humbly.”

The past four years have allowed me blessings beyond compare as a part of history on Election Night 2016 and as Senior Counselor to the President. It’s been heady. It’s been humbling. I am deeply grateful to the President for this honor, and tothe First Lady, the Vice President and Mrs. Pence, my colleagues in the White House and the Administration, and the countless people who supported me and my work. As many convention speakers will demonstrate this week, President Trump’s leadership has hada measurable, positive impact on the peace and prosperity of the nation, and on millions of Americans who feel forgotten no more.The incredible men, women and children we’ve met along the way have reaffirmed my later-in-life experience that public service can be meaningful and consequential. For all of its political differences and cultural cleavages, this is a beautiful country filled with amazing people. The promise of America belongs to us all. I will be transitioning from the White House at the end of this month. George is also making changes. We disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most: the kids. Our four children are teens and ‘tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months. As millions of parents nationwide know, kids “doing school from home” requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times. This is completely my choice and my voice. In time, I will announce future plans. For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama.

KellyAnne’s resignation letter contained a link to her husband’s Tweet, in which George Conway announced that he would be leaving the never Trump Lincoln Project to also be with his children and family.

“So I’m withdrawing from @ProjectLincoln to devote more time to family matters,” said George Conway. “And I’ll be taking a Twitter hiatus. Needless to say, I continue to support the Lincoln Project and its mission.Passionately.”

https://saraacarter.com/conways-announcement-kellyanne-leaving-white-house-and-george-withdrawing-from-the-lincoln-project/

Russian Oligarch’s Ties To Manafort, Steele Posed Intel Risks, Senate Report Says

A report from the Senate Intelligence Committee mentions Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska nearly 350 times, mostly for his connections to two operatives on opposite sides of “Russiagate.”

Trump-Russia dossier author Christopher Steele worked on Deripaska’s behalf from 2012 to 2017, the report says.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort worked for Deripaska from 2004 until falling out over a business dispute in 2009.

The Senate report and a former CIA station chief say that both of Deripaska’s connections present counterintelligence concerns for the U.S.

A Russian oligarch’s links to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and dossier author Christopher Steele posed counterintelligence risks for the U.S., according to a Senate report and a former CIA station chief for Moscow.

Deripaska, a billionaire aluminum magnate, is mentioned 341 times in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report released on Tuesday on Russia’s efforts to cozy up to Trump associates.

Deripaska’s connections to both Manafort and Steele have confounded investigators who have tried to figure out what role if any he played in the Russiagate saga. Manafort began working for Deripaska in 2004, but the pair were engaged in a business dispute at the time Manafort joined the Trump campaign in March 2016.

Steele began working for Deripaska’s attorneys in 2012, and continued to do so until at least early 2017.

The Senate report said that Manafort’s ties to Deripaska posed a “grave counterintelligence risk” because the Republican operative was financially vulnerable to the Russian billionaire. Manafort sent emails after he joined the Trump campaign asking how he could use his position to “get whole” with Deripaska. Manafort also offered to provide private briefings to Deripaska.

The Senate committee assessed that Steele’s connection to Deripaska created “a potential direct channel for Russian influence on the dossier,” which the FBI used in its investigation of the Trump campaign, and which many in the media touted as evidence of Trump-Russia collusion.

Daniel Hoffman, a former CIA station chief for Moscow, agrees with both assessments. “Manafort is vulnerable, greedy, avaricious, that’s the guy you want to go after,” Hoffman told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

https://dailycaller.com/2020/08/23/oleg-deripaska-paul-manafort-christoopher-steele/

Pompeo lands in Israel, will visit Sudan and Bahrain too

Pompeo plans to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss making peace with more Arab countries “in the near future.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Israel on Monday morning, the first of several stops in the region.

His itinerary includes Sudan and Bahrain, two countries whose ties with Israel have warmed recently and which could follow the United Arab Emirates in normalizing them. He also plans to visit the UAE.

The Secretary of State plans to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said in a press conference on Sunday that they will discuss making peace with more Arab countries “in the near future.”

The statement from Pompeo’s office said he and Netanyahu plan “to discuss regional security issues related to Iran’s malicious influence,” several days after he triggered the “snapback sanctions” mechanism, in accordance with the Iran nuclear deal.

Netanyahu and Pompeo also are expected to discuss how to implement the Abraham Accord between Israel and the UAE. It also will be on the agenda for Pompeo’s meeting with UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.

The State Department mentioned “cooperation in protecting the US and Israeli economies from malign investors,” a reference to China. The US has pushed many of its allies this year to stop China from investing in major infrastructure projects. Israel and the US have been working on a memorandum of understanding on the matter, especially in relation to communications infrastructure, including 5G Internet networks.

In Sudan, Pompeo will meet with Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Sovereign Council Chairman Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Burhan to support their civilian-led transitional government and discuss “deepening the Sudan-Israel relationship.”

Netanyahu and Burhan met in Uganda in February.

Sudan has moved in a more pro-Western direction, and away from Iran’s orbit, since the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir last year. It seeks to be removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The listing dates to 1993 and makes Sudan, struggling with a deep economic crisis,

technically ineligible for debt relief and financing from international lenders. Significant progress was expected on the issue in the coming weeks, a senior Sudanese government source told Reuters last week.

Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer said he is working behind the scenes on more Israeli peace agreements with Arab countries.

“Doing this behind the scenes is very important,” he told Dubai-based Al Arabiya news channel.

“There are several countries where there are possibilities [for peace],” Dermer said. “I don’t want to say this specific country or not. But there are several countries, and we hope that we see another breakthrough very, very, soon in the weeks and months ahead.”

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/pompeo-heads-to-israel-sudan-bahrain-amid-talk-of-normalization-639685

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Qantas' international boss, with nowhere to fly, departs airline

The head of Qantas' international division, Tino La Spina, will depart the airline after his role was rendered obsolete by the grounding of overseas flights for at least another 12 months.

Qantas said on Monday morning that Mr La Spina’s responsibilities would be absorbed by Qantas Domestic chief executive Andrew David when he leaves at the end of the month.

“It’s increasingly clear that our international flights will be grounded until at least mid-2021 and it will take years for activity to return to what it was before,” Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement.

“Under those circumstances, we’ve made the decision to consolidate the domestic and international business units under a single divisional CEO.”

Mr Joyce said Mr La Spina had done a "superb job" during his 14 years at Qantas, which included a stint as chief financial officer before taking the reins at its international division.

Mr La Spina was seen as one of the leading internal candidates along with Jetstar boss Gareth Evans to become Qantas' next CEO. Mr Joyce agreed earlier this year to stay on until 2023 to help guide it through the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis.

As part of its response to the pandemic, Qantas has sent its fleet of 12 long-haul Airbus A380s into deep storage in the Californian desert for at least three years. They will soon be joined by nine of its 11 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

About 20,000 Qantas staff remain stood down and it is in the process of laying off 6000 employees from a pre-pandemic workforce of 29,000.

Qantas said on Monday that following a three-month executive pay freeze in the last quarter of the 2020 financial year, its senior bosses had resumed taking a reduced pay cheque.

Mr Joyce is now on 65 per cent of his pre-pandemic wage and the rest of the executive team is on 85 per cent of their normal wage pay. A spokesman said executives would not receive any bonuses for the 2020 financial year.

https://www.theage.com.au/business/companies/qantas-international-boss-with-nowhere-to-fly-departs-airline-20200824-p55ooo.html