Pelosi says Trump lawyers have 'disgraced' themselves, suggests disbarment

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday hammered the lawyers leading President Trump's impeachment defense, saying they've trampled on the Constitution while questioning how they've been allowed to keep their jobs.

"I don't know how they can retain their lawyer status, in the comments that they're making," Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol.

Pelosi was responding largely to comments made Wednesday evening by Alan Dershowitz, a celebrity lawyer on Trump's legal team, who asserted on the Senate floor that presidents cannot be impeached for actions designed to boost their reelections — if they believe that retaining a grip on the White House is in the best interest of the country. And "every public official I know," he added, considers that to be the case.

"If a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment," Dershowitz said.

The exception, said Dershowitz, an opinion contributor to The Hill, would be cases where the conduct violated a specific law. The Democrats' two impeachment articles, charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, fall outside the federal criminal code.

"The articles of impeachment violate the Constitution," Trump's leading lawyers, Jay Sekulow and Pat Cipollone, said at the outset of the Senate trial. "They are defective in their entirety."

Democrats have vehemently rejected the White House arguments, saying impeachment is an inherently political — not judicial — response designed to protect the country from elected officials who violate the public trust, crime or none. Their impeachment case hinges on allegations that Trump violated that trust in withholding U.S. military aid to Ukraine to press the country's leaders to find dirt on his political rivals.

Pelosi on Thursday accused Trump's Republican allies of trying "to dismantle the Constitution" in their defense of the president.

"Some of them are even lawyers," she said. "Imagine that you would say — ever, of any president, no matter who he or she is or whatever party — if the president thinks that his or her presidency … is good for the country, then any action is justified — including encouraging a foreign government to have an impact on our elections.

"[That] is exactly what our Founders were opposed to — and they feared," she added. "I don't think they made the case. I think they disgraced themselves terribly in terms of their violation of what our Constitution is about and what a president's behavior should be."

Pelosi's comments came several hours before the Senate launched the ninth day of the impeachment trial, featuring the second day when senators will be allowed to ask questions of Trump's defense team and the House Democrats' prosecuting the case.

A central battle throughout the Senate process has revolved around questions of whether new witnesses and material evidence, which has emerged since the House voted to impeach Trump last month, will be allowed to appear.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/480709-pelosi-says-trump-lawyers-have-disgraced-themselves-suggests-disbarment

‘Criminal and amoral’: Russian diplomat blasts Zelensky’s remarks on USSR ‘causing’ WWII

The diplomat also pointed to a recent comment by former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk that Hitler and Stalin had allegedly met in Lvov at the onset of World War II

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s comments that the USSR was ‘complicit’ in starting World War II are criminal and amoral, says Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

"The statements made by President Zelensky who effectively equated the role of the Soviet Union with that of the Third Reich ‘in sparking World War II, which enabled the Nazis to launch their machine of death that was the Holocaust in motion,’ are beyond all boundaries," she insisted. "And after that the Ukrainian authorities ask themselves why their people don’t want to live with them in the same country?"

"Such statements exceed all boundaries in principle, they are a blatant betrayal of [Zelensky’s] own people," the diplomat emphasized. "To conjure up the same responsibility of the killer and the victim is criminal and amoral."

Zakharova also pointed to a recent comment by former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk that Hitler and Stalin had allegedly met in Lvov at the onset of World War II.

"What are you taking out there? Are you insane? Is there anybody left in Ukraine, who can provide some basic books on the history of the Great Patriotic War, World War II?" Zakharova quipped with irony.

During his visit to Poland, Zelensky accused the USSR of 'causing' World War II along with Nazi Germany. According to Zelensky, Poland and the Polish people were the first to feel what he called a "conspiracy of totalitarian regimes," which led to the beginning of the war.

Earlier, speaking on Rossiya 1 TV channel, former President Kravchuk claimed that Hitler and Stalin had met in Lvov, but then backpedaled and admitted that he knew nothing about any documented evidence that this meeting had ever taken place.

https://tass.com/politics/1114783

Israel claims disagreement with US over West Bank annexation merely ‘technical’

Official on PM’s plane: We planned swift start to multi-stage annexation of Jordan Valley, settlements, surroundings, but US wants to avoid recognizing annexation several times

There is no substantive disagreement between Washington and Jerusalem over Israel’s right to annex the Jordan Valley and other West Bank territories, a senior official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s delegation to the US and Russia said Thursday.

“There is no argument over substance. There is only a minor technical issue,” the senior official said.

The peace proposal US President Donald Trump unveiled Tuesday at the White House recognizes Israel’s right to annex the Jordan Valley, all West Bank settlements and their surroundings.

However, it is not clear when Israel would go ahead with this process. Trump on Tuesday spoke of a joint committee in which the US and Israel would convert the plan’s conceptual map “into a more detailed and calibrated rendering so that recognition can be immediately achieved.”

Netanyahu told reporters this week that he would bring the annexation bid to a vote in Sunday’s cabinet meeting. Initially, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman indicated there was no impediment to this, but Jared Kushner and other senior US officials later said that they expected Israel to hold off until at least after the country’s March 2 elections.

The senior Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Israel wanted to perform the annexation in one, two or possibly three stages — first the Jordan Valley and the settlements, and their immediate surroundings later.

“The Americans don’t want to do it in several rounds, because they don’t want to extend recognition several times. They want to do it one time,” the Israeli official told reporters on Netanyahu’s flight from Moscow to Tel Aviv. “Trump will recognize” Israel’s right to annex all territories the peace plan envisions as being part of Israel, he said. “This is a technical issue only,” he added.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-claims-disagreement-with-us-over-west-bank-annexation-merely-technical/

Russia puts billionaire tycoon on wanted list

Earlier, Vedomosti reported that the Investigative Committee had been checking Boris Mints’ activities following a statement by Mikhail Zadornov, chairman of the board of Otkritie FC Bank

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee asked Moscow’s Basmanny Court to arrest Boris Mints in absentia, a well-known businessman, accused of embezzlement, the court’s spokeswoman Irina Morozova told TASS.

She added that the businessman had been put on the international wanted list.

"The court received a petition from the investigation to take a preventive measure against Boris Iosifovich Mints accused under Part 4 of Article 160 of Russia’s Criminal Code (Misappropriation or Embezzlement) in the form of remand in custody in absentia," she specified.

According to her, the court is going to consider the investigation’s petition on January 31 at 10:00 Moscow time.

Morozova said that the oligarch’s two sons are also on the wanted list and are likewise accused of embezzlement.

"The investigation asks to arrest the sons of Mints - Alexander and Dmitry - in absentia," the court’s representative said.

Earlier, Vedomosti reported that the Investigative Committee had been checking Mints’ activities following a statement by Mikhail Zadornov, chairman of the board of Otkritie FC Bank.

According to one of the newspaper’s sources, it concerns the O1 Group Finance’s unsecured bonds on the balance sheet of Otkritie.

Boris Mints is the founder of the investment company O1 Group, which focuses on financing and real estate. In 2018, he transferred control over the Future Financial Group and the O1 Properties development company (part of the O1 Group) to the Cyprus-based Riverstretch Trading & Investments (RT&I). The magnate is also the founder of the Museum of Russian Impressionism.

The US Congress put Boris Mints on the so-called Kremlin list. This list includes businessmen, who have fortunes of more than $1 bln and can be subject to sanctions.

https://tass.com/economy/1114763

Telecom CEO & Pioneer Blasts FBI, DOJ, NSA — ‘They’re the Largest Organized Crime Family in America’

There is something very poetic about the truth, mostly because in today’s media it is so hard to find — but that is not the case here, where a Telecom legend and pioneer just blasted the Justice Department and its Deep-State co-conspirators, offering us all an alarming glimpse of the truth.

In a rare interview, Telecom legend Joseph P. Nacchio reflected on his controversial tenure as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Qwest Communications International on the latest episode of the Thomas Paine Podcast. And it is an explosive, shocking interview about how the FEDs conspire to tap your phone calls, internet — legally or not — and destroy anyone who gets in the way. You won’t find raw Intel in the mainstream media or cable TV.

Here is an excerpt from the podcast.

Nacchio referred to the Justice Department as the “largest organized crime family in America” and offered other astoninshing insights, especially on mass and wayward government surveillance of telecommunications:

“I have no respect, no respect for our system of government and laws. I think the elite — whether it’s the rich political Elite — or whether it’s a governmental Elite (the Deep State), that are always there irrespective of the president — and the politicians and the swamp so to speak — I think it’s totally corrupt.

You have universal surveillance, you have this overcriminalization of America where everybody’s breaking the law every day and the government can get information on anybody. Okay, and when they decide you’re a problem, you’re cooked — that to me would make George Orwell turn over in his grave; It would make Stalin and Hitler envious they were born a century too early.”

And that’s just the stuff we can put in print — Listen to the Full interview in link …

https://truepundit.com/exclusive-telecom-ceo-pioneer-blasts-fbi-doj-nsa-theyre-the-largest-organized-crime-family-in-america/

U.S. posture in the Middle-East: preparing for disaster

Lies, damn lies and statistics

Turns out that Trump and the Pentagon were lying. Again. This time about the true impact of the Iranian counter-strike on US forces in Iraq. First they claimed that there were no injured U.S. personnel, only to eventually have to fess up that 34 soldiers had suffered traumatic brain injury (which Trump “re-classified” as a “headache”). Then they had to admit that it was not really 34, but actually 50!

According to some sources, not all U.S. personnel were hiding in bunkers and some were deployed to defend the base perimeter. Whatever may be the case, this adds yet another indication that the Iranian counter-strike was much more robust than originally reported by the Empire. In fact, Iranian sources indicate that following the strike, a number of wounded casualties were flown to Israel, Kuwait and Germany. Again, we will probably never find out the full truth about what happened that night, but two things are now certain:

The Iranian attack was extremely effective and it is undeniable that all the US/NATO/Israeli forces in the region are now exposed like sitting ducks waiting for the next Iranian strike.

Uncle Shmuel has had to dramatically under-report the real extent and nature of the Iranian counter-strike.

Now, let’s be clear about the quality of the warning the U.S. personnel had. We now know at the very least the following warnings were received:

Warning through the Iraqi government (whom the Iranians did brief about their intentions).

Warning through the Swiss authorities (who represent U.S. interests in Iran and whom the Iranian did brief about their intentions).

Warning through the US reconnaissance/intelligence capabilities on the ground, air and space.

And yet, in spite of these almost ideal conditions (from the point of view of defense), we now see that not a single Iranian missile was intercepted, that the missiles all landed with very high accuracy, that the U.S. base itself suffered extensive damage (including destroyed helicopters and drones) and that there were scores of injured personnel (see this article for a detailed discussion of the post-attack imagery).

If we look at this strike as primarily a “proof of concept” operation, then it becomes pretty clear that on the Iranian side what was proven was a superb degree of accuracy and robust ballistic missile capability, whereas on the U.S. side the only thing this strike did was to prove that the U.S. forces in the region are all extremely vulnerable to Iranian missile attack. Just imagine if the Iranians had wanted to maximize U.S. casualties and if they had given no warning of any kind – what would the tally be then?! What if the Iranians had targeted, say, fuel and ammo dumps, buildings where U.S. personnel lived, industrial facilities (including CENTCOM’s key logistic nodes), ports or even airfields? Can you imagine the kind of hell the Iranians would have unleashed against basically unprotected facilities?!

Still dubious?

https://thesaker.is/u-s-posture-in-the-middle-east-preparing-for-disaster/

Iran military chief: Liberation of al-Quds number one priority of Muslim world

Iran’s military chief urges the world’s Muslim countries to reinforce their solidarity and overcome their existing rifts in the face of the US and Israel’s attempts to prevent liberation of the occupied Palestinian territories, most importantly the holy city of Jerusalem al-Quds.

Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri made the remarks in a statement addressed to the Muslim world’s defense ministers and army chiefs that was published on Thursday. The message concerned US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of the long-awaited outline of a US scheme purportedly seeking to remedy the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that his administration has controversially dubbed “the deal of the century.”

General Baqeri sternly warned about the implications of any laxity or silence in the face of the oppressive plot, urging Muslim nations to focus their efforts on healing their differences on the basis of Islamic guidelines amid the situation.

“The Muslim world’s first priority is liberation of the Palestinian nation and liberation of the Noble Quds, which is Muslims’ First Qibla (the direction towards which Muslims stand when saying their prayers),” he said.

Washington had announced the plan – a brainchild of Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner and other key pro-Israeli figures, years ago – but had withheld the details. Trump announced the general provisions of the scheme on Tuesday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side and in the absence of whatever representative from the Palestinian sides, which have already dismissed the deal.

The US president repeated his hugely-controversial endorsement of al-Quds Jerusalem as Israel’s “undivided capital,” although Palestinians have historically wanted the city’s eastern part as the capital of their future state.

He said the deal featured an economic portion that earmarks $50 billion in monetary allocations to Palestinians, Jordan, and Egypt. Palestinians have denounced this as a means of bribing them into selling their rights.

Still contentiously, Trump said that the settlers, who have been housed in illegal settlements built on occupied Palestinian land, would not be moved under the deal.

The US president, meanwhile, alleged that Israel would be freezing its settlement activities for four years “while Palestinian statehood is negotiated.” Tel Aviv has never fully committed to such freezes, causing any negotiation process to break down.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/01/30/617478/Iran-military-chief-United-States-Israel-Deal-of-Century-Muslim-world

Pentagon Now Admits 50 U.S. Service Members Diagnosed With Brain Injuries From Iran's Strike

The US government had plenty of time to prepare for this by setting up missile shields and evacuating our troops, instead they appear to have let our troops get hit and then lied to cover it up.

From CNN, "50 US service members diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries after Iranian missile strike":

Fifty US military personnel have now been diagnosed with concussions and traumatic brain injuries following the Iranian missile attack on US forces in Iraq earlier this month, according to a statement Tuesday from the Pentagon.

That's an increase of 16 from late last week when the Pentagon said 34 cases had been diagnosed.

"As of today, 50 U.S. service members have been diagnosed with TBI," Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Thomas Campbell said in the statement.

"Of these 50, 31 total service members were treated in Iraq and returned to duty, including 15 of the additional service members who have been diagnosed since the previous report. 18 service members have been transported to Germany for further evaluation and treatment. This is an increase of one service member from the previous report. As previously reported, one service member had been transported to Kuwait and has since returned to duty," the statement added.

Several Pentagon officials told CNN that the number of diagnosed cases is likely to continue to change. Approximately 200 people who were in the blast zone at the time of the attack have been screened for symptoms.

Remember what Kentucky Rep Thomas Massie – one of the only honest men in congress – said the night of the strike?

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=61151

President Trump Establishes Coronavirus Response Task Force – Headed by HHS Secretary Alex Azar…

In response to potential health risks; and anticipating multiple agency aspects of the U.S. government would need a unified approach; President Trump has assembled a unified task force to coordinate all response efforts across the totality of government.

[White House] – President Donald J. Trump announced the formation of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force. Members of the Task Force have been meeting on a daily basis since Monday. At today’s meeting, which the President chaired, he charged the Task Force with leading the United States Government response to the novel 2019 coronavirus and with keeping him apprised of developments.

The Task Force is led by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and is coordinated through the National Security Council. It is composed of subject matter experts from the White House and several United States Government agencies, and it includes some of the Nation’s foremost experts on infectious diseases.

The Task Force will lead the Administration’s efforts to monitor, contain, and mitigate the spread of the virus, while ensuring that the American people have the most accurate and up-to-date health and travel information.

The President’s top priority is the health and welfare of the American people. That is why, in 2018, President Trump signed the National Biodefense Strategy (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/National-Biodefense-Strategy.pdf) , which improves speed of action in situations such as this. The Administration, led by the President’s Task Force, will continue to work to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

The risk of infection for Americans remains low, and all agencies are working aggressively to monitor this continuously evolving situation and to keep the public informed. For more information, please visit CDC.gov ( https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html ) .

Members of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force:

Secretary Alex Azar, Department of Health and Human Services

Robert O’Brien, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health

Deputy Secretary Stephen Biegun, Department of State

Ken Cuccinelli, Acting Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security

Joel Szabat, Acting Under Secretary for Policy, Department of Transportation

Matthew Pottinger, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor

Rob Blair, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff

Joseph Grogan, Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council

Christopher Liddell, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Coordination

Derek Kan, Executive Associate Director, Office of Management and Budget

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/01/30/president-trump-establishes-coronavirus-response-task-force-headed-by-hhs-secretary-alex-azar/

>>7966781

Chief Justice Roberts Plays Politics, Sides with Democrats — AGAIN REFUSES TO READ RAND PAUL’S QUESTION ON WHISTLEBLOWER! (VIDEO)

Chief Justice Roberts played politics again on Thursday and sided with Democrats — ROBERTS REFUSED TO READ RAND PAUL’S QUESTION ON WHISTLEBLOWER!

There is NO LAW that prevents this anti-Trump CIA leaker’s name from being revealed in the impeachment investigation!

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is playing politics and siding with Democrats!!

Senator Rand Paul announced earlier that this afternoon at 1 PM ET he would would insist on his question which reveals the name of the whistleblower.

This needs to stop!

Chief Justice John Roberts blocked a question from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) from being asked at the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump on Wednesday.

Senator Paul’s question had to do with the whistleblower’s contact and coordination with Adam Schiff’s office.

Roberts is refusing to mention Eric Ciaramella’s name and will not allow anyone to say the whistleblower’s name during the question-and-answer session.

Senator Paul was furious for being gagged by Justice Roberts and announced he will put up a fight on Thursday.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/breaking-chief-justice-roberts-plays-politics-sides-with-democrats-refuses-to-read-rand-pauls-question-on-whistleblower-video/

Confusion in Tel Aviv as Kushner Contradicts Netanyahu on Annexation of Chunks of West Bank

In a recent interview, Trump advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner called on Israel to hold off on applying sovereignty over West Bank settlements until after the March parliamentary elections, with his words contradicting a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Tel Aviv could annex the settlement as soon as this Sunday.

The Israeli government has sent an inquiry to Washington over the planned annexation of the Jordan Valley and Israeli settlements in the West Bank following Trump Middle East advisor Jared Kushner’s remarks to a US media outlet asking Tel Aviv to hold off on the matter, a senior member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s entourage has told Haaretz.

“I hope nothing’s changed. It wasn’t done in bad faith and we’re inquiring about the matter,” the unnamed source said.

“We have been working on this for three years, hundreds of hours, to bring the best agreement in Israel,” the source noted, adding that Trump’s move to recognize the application of Israeli law to the Jordan Valley, the Northern Dead Sea, Judea and Samaria was “a huge thing” and an undeniable success for Israel.

The source clarified that the US side had preferred an Israeli annexation of these territories “all at once” instead of a slice-by-slice approach, calling this a “technical problem” but emphasizing that there was “no argument about the essence” of the matter.

Earlier, speaking to Gzero Media’s Ian Bremmer, Kushner said the US was hopeful that Israel would “wait until after the election” in March before annexing chunks of the West Bank containing Israeli settlements, saying the two countries would need “a couple months” to create a document “that we can both feel good about.”

Kushner’s comments appeared to contradict sentiments expressed by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. Edelstein promised Wednesday to “fast-track” any proposed vote on the matter. A day earlier, after meeting with US President Trump following the unveiling of Washington’s so-called ‘Deal of the Century’ peace plan, Netanyahu told reporters that Israel could move to annex the settlements as soon as this Sunday.

Israeli settlers began arriving in the West Bank in the aftermath of the Six Day War, a brief military conflict that took place in June 1967 which began after Israel launched preemptive airstrikes against an Arab coalition led by Egypt. After that conflict, Israel established de facto control over the West Bank territories, with Jordan, its former administrator, renouncing its claims to the territories in 1988. Today, an estimated 400,000 Jewish Israeli settlers live in the contested territories, alongside some two million Palestinians, who consider the settlements illegal.

President Trump unveiled his Israeli-Palestinian peace deal on Tuesday. The proposal envisions a two state solution, including the recognition of Israeli claims to settler areas in the West Bank, the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and providing several neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem for a Palestinian capital. It also offers the Palestinian side $50 billion in infrastructure and investment assistance. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the proposal out of hand, saying that Jerusalem was “not for sale,” and that the deal would be thrown into the “garbage can of history” by Palestinians.

Kushner slammed the Palestinian rejection of the plan, saying that “if they don’t [accept the deal], they’re going to screw up another opportunity, like they’ve screwed up every other opportunity that they’ve ever had in their existence.”

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202001301078182750-confusion-in-tel-aviv-as-kushner-contradicts-netanyahu-on-annexation-of-chunks-of-west-bank/

Body language says a lot here

Wawa Customers' Payment Data Is Being Offered For Sale Online After Massive Data Breach

Things just got worse for Wawa's after the company's recent massive data breach announced in December.

Now, it appears that credit and debit card information belonging to the chain's customers is being offered for sale online, according to Bloomberg. The data breach “ranks among the largest payment card breaches of 2019, and of all time” said fraud intelligence company Gemini Advisory.

The data breach was announced back in December. Gemini has since found that data from cards used at Wawa stores is available for sale on "Joker's Stash", a notorious online marketplace where credit card information is often bought and sold.

On Monday, data from 100,000 cards became available but Joker's Stash claimed it had data on 30 million cards of Wawa customers. It's likely that more data will be released in batches over the next 12 to 18 months, Gemini said.

Wawa says it is “aware of reports of criminal attempts to sell come customer payment card information” and has alerted its payment card processor, payment card brands and card issuers in order to try and preemptively address the issue.

Wawa has also offered its customers a year of free credit monitoring, ostensibly so they can watch their credit decline in real time as their accounts are fraudulently used by 13 year olds in Russia to order toy drones and Facebook ads against whatever Democratic candidate is running against President Trump this year.

The breach came as a result of malware running on Wawa payment processors from March until December of last year. "Potentially all" Wawa locations were compromised, according to CEO Chris Gheysens.

Wawa said the breach was contained 2 days after it was found and that they remained confident that “…only payment card information was involved, and that no debit card PIN numbers, credit card CVV2 numbers or other personal information were involved.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/wawa-customers-payment-data-being-offered-sale-online-after-massive-data-breach

US Working With Baghdad to Deploy Patriots in Iraq After Iran Missile Strike - Pentagon

Iran launched retaliatory strikes targeting US military bases in Iraq on January 8 in response to the US drone strike assassination of Revolutionary Guard Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3.

The US is working on delivering Patriot missile systems to Iraq in the wake of Iran's ballistic missile attack, but needs "permission" from the Iraqi government to do so, Secretary of Defence Mark Esper said Thursday.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley confirmed that the US was "working with the Iraqi government" on the issue, but said that "the mechanics of it all" still need to be worked out.

That process is "ongoing," Milley said.

Pentagon to Brief Congress as Traumatic Brain Injuries Mount

Commenting on the new DoD report released this week which revealed that some 50 US servicemembers required treatment for traumatic brain injuries following the January 8 Iranian strikes, Secretary Esper said President Trump was fully aware of the seriousness of these injuries, and promised to brief Capitol Hill on the matter later in the day.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon revised upward earlier released figures regarding traumatic brain injuries sustained during the Iranian missile strike, with the US military previously estimating that only 34 troops had received injuries.

Last week, President Trump appeared to play down the extent of the traumas, telling reporters that he had been told that they were limited to "headaches and a couple of other things." Trump said he didn't consider the injuries "very serious" relative to other injuries he'd seen, such as "people with no legs and no arms."

On the morning of January 8, Iran launched several dozen missile at US military bases in Iraq, hitting the Erbil Airbase in the country's north, and the Ayn al-Asad Airbase west of Baghdad. Iran is reported to have provided advance warning to Iraq, who presumably warned the US forces stationed in the country, allowing them to take shelter in prepared bunkers. Although they did not kill any US troops, the missile strikes did cause substantial damage to base infrastructure.

The US military later said that no air defences were deployed at either of the bases.

https://sputniknews.com/world/202001301078181951-us-working-with-baghdad-to-deploy-patriots-in-iraq-after-iran-missile-strike-pentagon/

Democrat Congressional Committee Demands Google Bury "Climate Misinformation"

The U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on the Climate Crisis has demanded Google demonetize climate skeptics, and provide education to millions of people who have been exposed to “dangerous misinformation”.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/democrat-congressional-committee-demands-google-bury-climate-misinformation

Hundreds Of Turkish-Backed Militants Arrive In Western Aleppo

On January 30, hundreds of Turkish-backed militants deployed in western Aleppo to fight the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). The step is reportedly a result of a breakthrough agreement with al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The militants are members of the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, that was expelled from the outskirt of Aleppo city last year by HTS.

Opposition sources released several videos showing the militants heading in large convoys from the Turkish-occupied area of Afrin to western Aleppo.

Enab Baladi, a pro-opposition outlet, revealed that HTS and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, now fighting under the al-Majd Corps, reached an agreement allowing al-Zenki fighters to fight the SAA in western Aleppo during a meeting late on January 29.

Tawfiq Shihab Al-Din, al-Zenki’s former leader, confirmed on Twitter that an agreement was reached with the al-Qaeda-affiliated group.

“An agreement was made between the rebels of the western countryside of Aleppo and HTS, with the mediation of the brothers in Ahrar al-Sham, on the return of the rebels to their positions and their participation in fending off the fierce attack Russian and Iranian militias,” Shihab al-Din said in a tweet.

Last week, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies kicked off a large offensive around Aleppo city. Many areas in the region have been liberated, so far.

The new agreement between al-Zenki and HTS shows how Turkish-backed militants tolerate terrorist groups and even fight on their behalf. All of this happen directly under the eyes of Ankara.

https://youtu.be/5erKofIeJHU

https://youtu.be/stxbD7Po9Qw

https://southfront.org/hundreds-of-turkish-backed-militants-arrive-in-western-aleppo-videos/