He's In The Driver's Seat

"President Donald Trump accumulated hundreds of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago during his presidency and the tumultuous transition of power to Biden in 2021. Officials repeatedly demanded those documents and other unclassified files back."

"Trump aides returned 15 boxes in January 2022. Prosecutors acquired another 38 classified documents in June 2022 in response to a grand jury subpoena, but were convinced more remained."

"A court-ordered FBI search in August 2022 turned up more than 100 additional classified records, including 17 “top secret” documents."

Josh Gerstein, Politico 

 

"President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to see his critics investigated, pressuring the Justice Department to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James."

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the president wrote last month in a Truth Social post."

"They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said, referencing the four criminal cases he faced after leaving the White House in 2021 and James's civil case."

"Both have since been charged, in cases that many experts have said appear to be politically motivated and difficult to win in court."

Kayla Epstein, BBC   

 

 

"An objective and thorough review will show nothing inappropriate was stored or kept by Amb. Bolton. These materials, many of which are documents that had been approved as part of a pre-publication review for Amb. Bolton’s book, were reviewed and closed years ago."

"These are the kinds of ordinary records, many of which are 20 years old or more, that would be kept by a longtime career official who served at the State Department, as an Assistant Attorney General, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and the National Security Advisor."

Bolton's Lawyer, Abbe Lowell  

Letitia James, one of three prominent Trump critics hit with criminal charges recently had successfully prosecuted President Donald Trump as the New York attorney general. On Friday she pleaded not guilty to bank fraud charges. She entered her plea at an arraignment in a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia. A trial date of January 26 was set by the presiding judge. Facing one count of bank fraud and a second one of making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a property she purchased in 2020 in Virginia.

 

The case was brought a day after yet another Trump target, former FBI director James Comey, pleaded not guilty to charges of making false statements to Congress, and obstructing a congressional proceeding. Charges that seem eerily similar to some that were in fact brought against President Trump himself, in the past. And then there is John Bolton, who served as national security advisers in the first Trump administration before falling out with the irascible president whose ire against those who turn against him becomes an acidic maelstrom of tit-for-tat.

 

Mr. Bolton's charge was that of mishandling classified information. He too has pleaded not guilty. 'Mishandling' government documentation is a charge made against many, including former president Joe Biden who was found by a special counsel to have improperly stored classified documents from his time as vice-president. He, on the other hand, did not have criminal charges pressed against him. Just as the presidential position prevented similar charges from being pressed against Donald Trump  himself.

 

President Trump's great good friend Lindsey Halligan whom the president elevated to the position of U.S attorney following her predecessor's resignation after claiming insufficient evidence was produced, filed those cases against James and Comey. The charges were rejected by James as "baseless, nothing more than a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of our justice system".

 

"The president's own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution", she responded. 

 

However, this is the president of the great United States of America. And he has used the great powers vested in him as the world's arguably most powerful political figure to stamp his personal mark in a myriad of ways, from the world economy, to strong-arming countries around the world to do his bidding in his very personal campaign to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; not this year, but the one to follow, surely. This president's penchant for admiring the world's strong men as well as those with the aura of power that accompanies great wealth is legendary. 

 

As is his splenetic outbursts at criticism.

 

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was recently instructed in public to take action against James, Comey and any others the president views as his personal adversaries as he escalates his campaign dedicated to  ensuring that those who cross him bear the burden of a cross of their own. 

 

And Letitia James has certainly earned that cross earmarked for her bent back, when in 2021 she brought a major civil fraud case against him that alleged he and his real estate holdings inflated his wealth unlawfully to manipulate the value  of properties with an eye to favourable bank loans or insurance terms. Mr. Trump was ordered to pay a $46 million penalty by a New York State judge, but the financial penalty was removed by a higher court which chose nonetheless to uphold the underlying judgment.

 

Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, is also in Mr. Trump's crosshairs for leading the first impeachment of the president in the House of Representatives. Seeking to have the case against the former FBI chief dismissed, Comey's lawyer characterized the charges as vindictive and selective prosecution. It certainly has that kind of whiff about it. 

"[My book,] The Room Where It Happened, [was reviewed and approved by] the appropriate, experienced career clearance officials. [The FBI was made fully aware of the 2021 email hack. In the four years of the Biden administration, no charges were filed]." 

"Then came Trump 2 who embodies what Joseph Stalin’s head of secret police once said, ‘You show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime’."

"These charges are not just about his focus on me or my diaries, but his intensive effort to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct."

"Dissent and disagreement are foundational to America’s constitutional system, and vitally important to our freedom. I look forward to the fight to defend my lawful conduct and to expose his abuse of power."

John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser 

 

Hamas Reasserting Its Authority in Gaza

"It became clear, and we can see this from the Gaza City incursion, that Hamas largely abandoned confrontation with the IDF in favour of strengthening its foothold internally for the day after: saving weapons, preserving manpower and planning reprisals against clans who either co-ordinated with Israel or threatened Hamas during the war."

Shlomo Mofaz, director, Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

 

"How many families have received threats from Hamas? Now these families are demanding weapons to defend themselves."

"This is the expected scenario in a few weeks: civil war."

Tawfik Tirawi, former head, Palestinian Authority Intelligence Service 

 

"Are they obtaining new cards for bargaining after the hostages are handed over? Perhaps."

"Hamas could manoeuvre on this issue and say, 'We are present, we are indispensable for imposing control'."

Mustafa Ibrahim, political analyst, Gaza 

 

"[Hamas is comfortable with the guarantees provided by mediators that Israel will not restart the war, but the] gangs are an issue in Gaza."

"[Hamas's argument is that negotiators] should differentiate between weapons that can still be held for personal protection, while heavier weapons should be given up." 

Rashid al-Mohanadi, fellow, Middle East Council on Global Affairs, Qatar

 

"[The Sahem {piercing arrow, special unit of Hamas} are] commanders, intelligence people, drug enforcement captains -- all of them experienced." 

"They are scattered around Gaza, usually in plainclothes, holed up in hospitals or in tent-cities among the refugees." 

"The [captured injured Hamas fighter] gave us names, locations, directives and showed us the two separate communication lines used for unit operations." 

Ali Mujaida, senior Mujaida clan leader

 

"[Most Mujaida clansmen] are not affiliated with Hamas and indeed many lean toward Fatah."

"Hamas feared that, either of their own accord or else in co-ordination with the PA, these families would revolt against their rule, and so Hamas needed to nip this in the bud."

Anwar Rajab, Palestinian Authority security official

Hamas-affiliated security forces have been deployed across Gaza to oversee the transition following Israeli withdrawal    Anadolu via Getty Images

 

Byzantine, a labyrinthine as the tunnels that Hamas built under Gaza, are the competing, adverse, historically suspicious family clans with their regional power bases and antipathy toward one another. When Hamas first entered Gaza in 2007 it was two years after Israel's unilateral decision under Ariel Sharon to leave Gaza as a conciliatory gesture to the Palestinians. At that time the Gaza Strip was under Fatah (Palestinian Authority) control. A time during those two years when family clans' vendettas and criminal activity was rampant. Hamas's entry soon changed all that; the group brutally challenged Fatah and brought order of a kind to the Strip, installing their brand of Islamist rule and policing gang activity.

 

Ordinary Palestinian citizens in Gaza were impressed, as gang violence decreased and order -- of a totalitarian nature, acceptable and expected in Palestinian society -- prevailed. Some of the clans sided with Hamas and accepted their rule, and some retained their animosity toward Hamas, but forbore from challenging them, daunted by their formidable power. Since the Israel Defense Forces invasion of the Gaza Strip following the terrorist horde's incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, eliminating Hamas leaders and commanders in the Strip, the clans have grown restive and their hatred of Hamas has resulted in violent armed clashes.

 

Hamas has responded with brutal efficiency, tracking down and killing their opponents, and executing them in the streets. Israel had armed some of the Hamas-opposing clans. Hamas in confronting them as the terrorist group seeks to reassert its commanding control of the territory, condemns them as traitors, rounds them up, and executes them in the streets. The Astal militia whose leader co-ordinated with Israel, taking up arms, were among those targeted by Hamas.

Satellite imagery over Sabra in Gaza City taken earlier this month.  (Planet Labs PBC)

 

A family clan, the Mujaida, diminished following a violent gun battle decided to pledge fealty to the 'government' of Gaza -- Hamas. In the ceasefire agreed to, Hamas has grasped the opportunity to launch a campaign of violence in reasserting its control over the local families in Gaza, along with the militias challenging its power throughout the years of the war since 2023. Gaza City has seen public executions, and armed raids have been carried out in the central Gaza Strip, Hamas sending its message of return to authority.

 

Hamas is thus engaged because President Donald Trump who engineered the ceasefire in a triumph of muscling regional Arab countries into agreeing that Hamas must be disarmed and its dominant role in Gaza broken for good, charging Qatar, Turkey and Egypt to work out the details (all three of which have supported Hamas as a legitimate opposition to Israeli 'occupation' of 'Palestine). In the interim, while the 20-point plan is worked on and implemented with all players in discussion and coordination, allowing Hamas the time to reassess their situation, rearm, reposition themselves, recruit and reclaim their power base.

Armed groups clash in what is claimed to be the Sabra neighbourhood, Gaza City. (Supplied)

 

That may not have been the intention of the U.S. negotiators and President Trump, but what they recognize as a ceasefire is in fact in the parlance of the region, a 'hudna'; a temporary ceasefire allowing the aggressor terrorists time to reorder its priorities. For the moment those priorities are to confront and murder those Palestinians whom they regard as opponents of their ongoing rule of Gaza. 

 

While publicly Hamas 'officials' claim their willingness to relinquish Gaza governance, they contend as part of the social fabric of Gaza their administration should continue as a rebranded political party. Hamas explains its crackdown on the Palestinian clans as normal, since they have returned to Gaza as the commanding authority. Announcing the appointment of five new governors to administer the Strip's urban centres; they circulated videos on social media of its operatives directing traffic.

 

The Hamas social media accounts describe clashes with rebel clans as a duty to bring criminals to justice. The rebellious clans were accused of engaging in smuggling, gunrunning, extortion and looting of humanitarian aid trucks. A number of factions including a primary tribal council voiced support for Hamas enforcing the law, while condemning those who collaborated with Israel. This is Palestinians being Palestinians, embracing their 'victimhood' and exercising their hatred for Israel, seated on its ancestral land, claimed by Palestinians as their own. 

Armed fighters in Khan Younis, southern Gaza on Monday.   Abed Rahim Khatib / DPA via Getty Images

 

Clan and militia leaders experienced the methodical efficiency of Hamas moving against them. Before the ceasefire was announced, one of the first major clashes erupted on October 3 when hundreds of Hamas uniformed operatives entered a Khan Younis neighbourhood in control of the Mujaidas, a prominent family, historically affiliated with Fatah. Hamas operatives armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades advanced in formation from four directions and an intense firefight ensued. When an Israeli drone noticed the attack it fired on Hamas and they were beaten back.  

"[Hamas is now] cleaning up their own territory, forcing the clans into submission and deterring the public."

"When that is over, they will move into the less secure areas to root out the militias."

"Abu Shabab will be last in line."

Doghmush clan member  

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"It was a pre-emptive strike."

 

 

 

"Putin Could End This War Today, If He Wanted To"

"You will have heard a debate in Germany -- and that's one of the issues the next government will address -- of reintroducing conscription. And all of that is because we see what's happening on the Russian side, how the Russians are re-arming, doubling their military forces and clearly preparing for a possible confrontation beyond Ukraine." 

"European leaders and German leaders take [this] very seriously. And this is why, if we want to underpin the defence plans we have with capability -- and that's really what it's all about -- and you make the calculation of what that will cost you will end up significantly higher than two percent [NATO goal] and this is what the discussion should be about."

"The German government has said time and again that any settlement regarding Ukraine, first and foremost, has to be in the hands of the Ukrainians."

"We will never accept any dictated arrangement. European leaders and the Ukrainian president have been very clear that we need a settlement that really ends this war and not something that is just a prelude to the next aggression." 

German Ambassador to Canada Tjorven Bellmann 

Russia may be using bots on the Telegram messaging app to enhance the lethality of Geran-2 drones, which have been attacking Ukraine in increasing numbers, according to a report by The Economist.

In the midst of desperately attempting to successfully counter Moscow's 'Special Military Operation', and pursuing the diplomatic circuit in Europe and North America, Ukraine also faces increasing concern over how it can secure badly neeeded U.S.-produced Patriot air defence systems. Stockpiles provided to Ukraine during the previous U.S. Biden administration are shrinking badly. That the new Trump government is disinterested in providing Ukraine with fresh arms has become increasingly obvious, with U.S. President Donald Trump's belligerence toward Ukraine, and friendly relations with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

 

Bombarding Ukraine with drones and cruise missiles, Ukraine fears the ballistic missiles Russia has been sending across the border. Patriot missiles are the sole formula for countering Russian ballistic missiles which travel several miles each second. In power plant strikes by Moscow in 2023 and 2024, ballistic missiles obliterated fifty percent of Ukraine's power capacity. Speed and size and difficulty in inerception make ballistic missiles extremely effective weapons in Russia's arsenal, aiming at pulverizing infrastructure.

 

Over the Memorial Day weekend Ukraine's air defence forces were unable to intercept any of the nine ballistic missiles Russia launched from Saturday night to early Sunday. According to Ukraine's air defence forces, two of the Russian missiles were directed at Kyiv, where two Patriot units are stationed. The launch sites are in place, but the Patriot missiles are missing in action. Along with the ballistic missiles, Russia fired over 900 drones and 65 cruise missiles, representing some of the largest strikes of the war as Russia ramps up its attacks.

 

Despite the fact that Russian ballistic missiles can now deviate from their trajectory, Patriot systems are successfully intercepting them. One of the latest indicators is 6 out of 9 missiles intercepted   Espreso

Withholding any promises of additional military aid to Ukraine, U.S. President Trump condemned Russia for the attacks launched aganst Ukraine on Sunday. When President Trump wrote that Russian President Putin "has gone absolutely CRAZY!", Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, spoke of the comment as "connected to an emotional overload of everyone involved". If Ukraine desperately wants anything from the United States at this juncture, it is more Patriot missiles and launchers.

 

"Which, frankly, we don't have", responded Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. Instead, according to Mr. Rubio, the United States is "encouraging" its allies in NATO to donate Patriot missiles and systems from their own stockpiles, adding that "not one of these countries want to give up their Patriot systems, either." The U.S. needs to keep a certain amount for its own defence, "in case of an attack from Iran or another adversary", confided an unidentified diplomat.

 

In strictly practical terms  under the new U.S. administration it is well understood by Ukrainian officials that the Trump administration would be prepared to sell them more Patriots, not as aid, but representing military sales. Washington, acording to a senior Ukrainian official is not expected to block the sale of future air defence systems, but the White House "will not give it away for free. They think like business people. If I give you something, you have to give me something in return. We have to adapt to this."

 

Russia, on the other hand, is not lacking support from its own allies, with North Korea supplying the Kremlin with some 250 ballistic missiles since last fall, acording to Ukraine's military intelligence. Russia used North Korean KN-23 missiles in six of nine ballistic attacks in May, including the massive Sunday attack on Ukraine. Germany was given permission by the Trump administration to re-export Patriot materials to Kyiv following the signing by Ukraine of a minerals deal with Washington.

 

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius informed reporters recently that his country would give Patriot missiles to Ukraine along with four IRIS-T systems, short-to-medium-range weapons, effective against cruise, but not ballistic missiles. Additionally, Berlin plans to send Ukraine its older PAC-2 Pariot missiles, not as effective as intercepting ballistic missiles, but useful, withal. Russian Iskander missiles were involved in dozens of civilians having beeen killed in attacks.

Ukraine cannot replace the Patriots for defending civilians against Russian ballistic attacks. Getty Images

"And this concerns questions like territorial integrity, security guarantees, the size and might of future armed forces in Ukraine, political sovereignty and choice of alliances."

"Putin could end this war today, if he wanted to, but we don't see any serious readiness on the Russian side to even engage in serious talks."

"All of what we see and the answers that the Russian president has given these past days and weeks is only more aggression and bloodshed and continuing the war."

"All of us want this war to end -- nobody more than the Ukrainians -- but it has to end in a way that brings true peace and not the next aggression."

German Ambassador to Canada Tjorven Bellmann