U.S. Sanctions Hezbollah Iraq Networks, Son of Group’s Leader

The United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday on four people linked to Lebanon's Hezbollah who coordinate the Iran-backed group's activities in Iraq and designated the son of the group's leader as a global terrorist. The U.S. Treasury added Shibl Muhsin Ubayd al-Zaydi, Yusuf Hashim, Adnan Hussein Kawtharani and Muhammad Abd-al-Hadi Farhat to its Specially Designated Global Terrorists list. Al-Zaydi is Iraqi and the others are Lebanese.

The State Department designated Jawad Nasrallah, the son of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and described him as a "rising leader of Hezbollah". Proscribed as a terrorist movement by the United States, Hezbollah is a heavily-armed Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group backed by Iran and a leading ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Iran also backs Shi'ite militias in Iraq.

The Treasury statement said the four individuals "lead and coordinate (Hezbollah's) operational, intelligence and financial activities in Iraq". The Treasury accused al-Zaydi of smuggling oil from Iran and from Iran into Syria, of fundraising for Hezbollah and of sending fighters to Syria for Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Washington at the end of October tightened existing anti-Hezbollah legislation aiming to sever the group's funding routes around the world, passing amendments to the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act (HIFPA) of 2015. The four individuals are being sanctioned under HIFPA. Nasrallah the Hezbollah leader earlier this year said increasing U.S. pressure on the group would not yield results. Hezbollah was not immediately available for comment.

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-sanctions-hezbollah-iraq-networks-son-groups-leader/

National security aide Mira Ricardel removed from White House

Embattled deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel was forced out of the White House on Wednesday, one day after first lady Melania Trump publicly called for her to be fired. “Mira Ricardel will continue to support the President as she departs the White House to transition to a new role within the Administration," press secretary Sarah Sanders wrote in a statement to pool reporters. "The President is grateful for Ms. Ricardel’s continued service to the American people and her steadfast pursuit of his national security priorities."

Ricardel served under national security adviser John Bolton. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday afternoon she had already been terminated and escorted from the White House, before issuing a correction. Ricardel and Melania Trump reportedly clashed during the first lady's October trip to the African continent over seating assignments on the plane and National Security Council resource requests. The first lady's office also suspected Ricardel to be the source behind some negative stories about the first lady and her staff. "It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House,” Trump’s communications director Stephanie Grisham said Tuesday in a statement.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/national-security-aide-mira-ricardel-removed-from-white-house

Trump embraces prison sentence cuts as 'right thing to do,' true bipartisanship

Shorter sentences for federal prison sentences may be on the horizon, with President Trump's blessing. Trump endorsed new legislation Wednesday that would reduce some federal sentences, arguing it's "the right thing to do" and that only "truly bad criminals" deserve harsh penalties. "Today's announcement shows that true bipartisanship is possible, and maybe it will be thriving," Trump said at the White House.

The reforms are included in bipartisan Senate legislation called the First Step Act. The bill has evolved in time, passing the House of Representatives earlier this year after sentencing reforms were axed at the behest of some Republicans. Trump's endorsement of a more robust version including sentencing reform gives it significant momentum, fresh off Trump's firing last week of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who long resisted softening harsh drug laws. "It's my honor to be involved, and it will be an even greater honor to sign," Trump said, telling lawmakers to "go out and see if you can get that done."

Trump recalled his June decision to commute drug convict Alice Johnson's prison sentence, repeating his often-made argument that some prisoners are victims of unfair sentencing. "I'll be waiting with a pen, and we will have something that hasn't been done in many many years, and it's the right thing to do," Trump said.

Bill provisions include shortening federal three-strike drug penalties from life in prison to 25 years, reducing two-strike drug penalties from 20 years to 15, allowing a firearm sentencing enhancement to run concurrently with the underlying penalty, and allowing retroactive sentencing for crack cocaine cases judged under tougher historical laws. "The legislation fixes some longstanding problems in the federal criminal justice system," said Joe Luppino-Esposito, director of rule of law initiatives at the Due Process Institute. "President Trump wants law enforcement to expend its resources on stopping violent criminals and drug cartels, not warehousing small-time, nonviolent drug offenders." The prison-reform components of the First Step Act aim to make it easier for inmates to re-enter society. The bill would bar pregnant women from being shackled, expand good-time credit, and mandate that prisoners be placed near family. "The genius of this bill is that it re-focuses on the primary purpose of prison: rehabilitating and correcting criminal behavior," said Luppino-Esposito. "Prisons often make inmates become more dangerous, especially those who are low-level, nonviolent offenders — the research has told us that for years." Luppino-Esposito said that some key reforms already have been adopted by states and that "the First Step Act will greatly improve recidivism rates, just as we've seen work in Texas and a number of other red states."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/trump-embraces-prison-sentence-cuts-as-right-thing-to-do-true-bipartisanship