Embezzlement, Theft Charges Against Labor Kingpin May Cripple Dems’ 2020 Machine

Pennsylvania Democrats are worried about the short-term future of their political machine after authorities charged a Philadelphia labor leader with numerous counts of embezzlement, bribery and theft, Politico reports. John Dougherty, the business manager of Philadelphia’s branch of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and six other labor officials were indicted on 116 charges related to lavish misuse of union funds and buying influence with corrupt politicians, Philadelphia’s The Inquirer and CBS Philly report. The 159-page indictment was released by the federal court in Pennsylvania Friday. It details more than two years of FBI and IRS operations and raids launched against IBEW Local 98 offices, union officials and their homes.

Dougherty used union funds as his “personal bank account and as a means to obtain employment for himself, his family, and his friends,” the indictment says, according to The Inquirer. “I got a different world than most people ever exist in,” Dougherty says according to the transcript of a 2015 FBI wiretap put in the indictment. Dougherty has wielded significant influence across the battleground state, throwing the union’s power and purse behind politicians, largely democrats, running for local, state and national offices. “I would argue they’re the single-most effective political organization in the state,” former Republican Rep. Ryan Costello told Politico. “They’re thinking five, six, seven steps ahead.”

Costello lost his seat after Pennsylvania’s electoral map was redrawn by the state’s Supreme Court. Dougherty’s union was instrumental in placing three justices, including Dougherty’s own brother, on the court, Politico reports. If Dougherty is convicted and taken out of the state’s political machine, the impact may ripple from Philadelphia’s local elections all the way up to the 2020 presidential race. Pennsylvania Democrats are worried that losing Dougherty will seriously cripple their ability to mobilize voters and funds against the GOP and President Donald Trump in the short-term, according to Politico. “When people run for president, John’s on the list of people they call in Pennsylvania,” longtime political observer Larry Ceisler told Politico.

https://www.dailycaller.com/2019/02/01/pennsylvania-ibew-john-dougherty/

IBEW Local 98 Union Leader John Dougherty Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Corruption Charges

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/02/01/ibew-local-98-union-leader-john-dougherty-pleads-not-guilty-federal-charges/

Feds say Johnny Doc used Local 98’s money to buy influence, power, and a Philly councilman

http://www.philly.com/news/johnny-doc-indictment-bobby-henon-philadelphia-government-ibew-local-union-corruption-20190131.html

Case 2:19-cr-00064-JLS Document 1 Filed 01/29/19 Page 1 of 159

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5700426/John-Dougherty-Indictment.pdf

USAID assistance in the West Bank and Gaza has ceased: U.S. official

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has ceased all assistance to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, a U.S. official said on Friday. The halt was requested by the Palestinian Authority but is certain to bring further hardship to people in the already deprived territories. The deadline also sees the end of about $60 million in U.S. aid for the Palestinian security forces, whose cooperation with Israeli forces helps maintain relative quiet in the West Bank.

The decision was linked to a Jan. 31 deadline set by new U.S. legislation under which foreign aid recipients would be more exposed to anti-terrorism lawsuits. The Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA) empowers Americans to sue foreign aid recipients in U.S. courts over alleged complicity in “acts of war”. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt, said the aid was cut at the request of the Palestinian Authority.

“This aid was cut (not just suspended) at the PA’s request because they didn’t want to be subject to US courts which would require them to pay US citizens killed by Palestinian terrorists when the PA was found guilty,” he said in a tweet. The Palestinian Authority declined further U.S. funding over worries about its potential legal exposure, although it denies Israeli accusations that it encourages militant attacks. “At the request of the Palestinian Authority, we have wound down certain projects and programs funded with assistance under the authorities specified in ATCA in the West Bank and Gaza, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. “All USAID assistance in the West Bank and Gaza has ceased.”

It was unclear how long the cessation would last. The official said no steps were currently being taken to close the USAID mission in the Palestinian territories, and no decision had been made about future staffing at the USAID mission in the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. USAID is the main agency administering U.S. foreign assistance in the Palestinian territories. According to its website, the agency spent $268 million on public projects in the West Bank and Gaza as well as Palestinian private sector debt repayment in 2017, but there were significant cuts to all new funding through the end of June 2018. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said: “The suspension of aid to our people, which included critical sectors such as health and education, will have a negative impact on all, create a negative atmosphere, and increase instability.”

Greenblatt called Rudeineh’s statement disingenuous. “Palestinians are too smart to continue to live as victims and recipients of foreign aid. Until a political solution is found (maybe it will be our peace plan?), the PA must focus on helping Palestinians lead better lives,” he tweeted.

The Palestinian Authority is an interim self-government body set up following the 1993 Oslo peace accords. The peace process, aimed at finding a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has been stalled since 2014. In the Hamas-ruled enclave of Gaza, Hamas spokesman Ismail Rudwan condemned the cuts, deploring what he called “politicized money” In the Hamas-ruled enclave of Gaza, Hamas spokesman Ismail Rudwan condemned the cuts, deploring what he called “politicized money”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-palestinians-usaid/usaid-assistance-in-the-west-bank-and-gaza-has-ceased-u-s-official-idUSKCN1PQ418?il=0

U.S. says to withdraw from arms control treaty in six months

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States announced on Friday it will withdraw from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia in six months unless Moscow ends its alleged violations of the landmark 1987 arms control pact. The United States would reconsider its withdrawal if Russia, which denies violating the treaty, came into compliance with the agreement, which bans both nations from stationing short- and intermediate-range land-based missiles in Europe. Announcing the move, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would cease to regard itself as being bound by the treaty starting Saturday, which is when Washington will formally inform Moscow of its intent to withdraw, a senior U.S. official told reporters.

The announcement may aim to pressure Russia to come to terms during the next six months but it also raised fears of a new U.S.-Russian nuclear arms race in Europe as well as one between the United States and China in Asia. U.S. President Donald Trump repeated U.S. allegations that Russia had violated the INF treaty, which limited only U.S. and Russian arsenals, and he held out the prospect of negotiating a wider agreement, possibly including other nations. “I hope that we’re able to get everybody in a big and beautiful room and do a new treaty that would be much better. Certainly I would like to see that,” Trump told reporters.

Trump’s tenure has been dogged by allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to help his candidacy, which Moscow denies. The dispute over INF has contributed to U.S.-Russia frictions, now at their worst since the Cold War ended in 1991 despite Trump’s stated desire for better ties. “If Russia does not return to full and verifiable compliance with the treaty within this six-month period by verifiably destroying its INF-violating missiles, their launchers, and associated equipment, the treaty will terminate,” Pompeo told reporters.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-russia/u-s-says-to-withdraw-from-arms-control-treaty-in-six-months-idUSKCN1PQ4VW?il=0

>>4994896

I forgot to include this portion.

GE wins $517 million U.S. defense contract: Pentagon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Electric Aviation, a unit of General Electric Co, has been awarded a $517 million U.S. Army contract for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Improved Turbine Engine Program, the Pentagon said on Friday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ge-pentagon/ge-wins-517-million-u-s-defense-contract-pentagon-idUSKCN1PQ5X0?il=0

>>4994972

Absolutely…from it's inception as a matter of fact.

>>4995027 @ >>4995011

>>4994609

Just want to mention here in case there isn't awareness..on the surface this might seem like a nothing burger here, however this is just the opening call…This indictment will open doors to all of the other connected Unions..I say connected because they all collaborate together.

>>4995080

yup, this is like opening the door to the Mafia..no joke!

>>4995128

What the hell does that have anything to do with what we are talking about???? Did you even bother to follow the entire convo??