Tag Archives: State Department

US Ambassador To Netherlands Under Fire For Hosting Far-Right Party Event, Dutch Claim Election Interference

Politico Europe reports: The U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands has been accused of interfering in national politics after hosting an event for the far-right Forum for Democracy party. The event, held at the American Embassy in Wassenaar on September 10, featured between 30 and 40 “party officials and wealthy entrepreneurs,” according to Dutch magazine De Groene Amsterdammer. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra …

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Pompeo Flogs Christianity As Official US Foreign Policy

The Christian Post reports: Speaking at the Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas on Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed America’s responsibility to model Christian behavior and to be a light unto the world amid pressure from critics who say faith must be kept out of the public square. Jack Graham, the pastor of the Plano megachurch, introduced Secretary Pompeo, …

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Politico: Iran Is Plotting To Kill A US Ambassador

Politico reports: The Iranian government is weighing an assassination attempt against the American ambassador to South Africa, U.S. intelligence reports say, News of the plot comes as Iran continues to seek ways to retaliate for President Donald Trump’s decision to kill a powerful Iranian general earlier this year, the officials said. If carried out, it could dramatically ratchet up already …

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British Family Sues Wife Of US Official In Fatal Crash

The Washington Post reports: The family of Harry Dunn, the 19-year-old motorcyclist killed by a car driven on the wrong side of an English roadway by the wife of a U.S. official, filed a U.S. federal lawsuit against the driver, Anne Sacoolas, on Wednesday. The lawsuit, which claims wrongful death and seeks financial damages, represents a significant escalation in the …

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State Department Condemns Turkish President For “Terrorist Outreach” After Trump Calls Him “Very Good”

Via press release from the State Department: The United States strongly objects to Turkish President Erdogan hosting two Hamas leaders in Istanbul on August 22. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S and EU and both officials hosted by President Erdogan are Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The U.S. Rewards for Justice Program is seeking information about one …

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State Department Finds Trump’s UK Ambassador Made Racist Comments, Hurt Morale Of US Mission In Britain

Reuters reports: U.S. Ambassador to Britain Woody Johnson has made insensitive and inappropriate comments during his tenure, including about race, religion and sex, the State Department’s inspector general has found, judging that morale in some parts of the mission has dropped. “Offensive or derogatory comments, based on an individual’s race, color, sex, or religion, can create an offensive working environment …

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BRITAIN: Virtual Trial Sought For Wife Of US Diplomat

ABC News reports: A U.K. lawmaker has asked the government to hold a virtual trial for the wife of an American diplomat who left Britain after being involved in a road accident that killed a British teenager. The decision to charge Anne Sacoolas, who has claimed diplomatic immunity, has caused tensions between the U.K. and the United States. The Americans …

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US Condemns Belarus Election As “Not Free And Fair”

Via press release from the State Department: The United States is deeply concerned about the conduct of the August 9 presidential election in Belarus, which was not free and fair. Severe restrictions on ballot access for candidates, prohibition of local independent observers at polling stations, intimidation tactics employed against opposition candidates, and the detentions of peaceful protesters and journalists marred …

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Pompeo Warned Russia About Bounties On US Troops

The New York Times reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned Russia’s foreign minister against Moscow paying bounties to Taliban-linked militants and other Afghan fighters for killing American service members, U.S. officials said. Mr. Pompeo’s warning is the first known rebuke from a senior American official to Russia over the bounties program, and it runs counter to President Trump’s …

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US Sends Millions Of Text Messages To Russia And Iran Offering $10 Million Reward For Election Hacking Info

The New York Times reports: The United States government on Thursday became, for a brief moment, one of the biggest and perhaps most annoying telemarketers in Russia. Seeking to publicize new rewards of up to $10 million for information about people trying to attack American voting systems, the State Department sent text messages to cellphones in Russia as well as …

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State Dept Acting IG Resigns Amid Pompeo Probe

The Associated Press reports: The State Department’s acting inspector general resigned abruptly on Wednesday following the firing of his predecessor in circumstances now being investigated by Congress. Stephen Akard announced his resignation just two days after Democrats issued subpoenas for several of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s top aides to answer questions about the shakeup in the watchdog’s office. The …

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Brazilian Media Reports Trump Had US Ambassador Pressure Bolsonaro For Help In Winning The Election

Vox reports: The Trump administration has been accused of attempting to pressure another foreign country into helping Trump’s reelection prospects, according to a letter from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. That letter cites Brazilian news articles that report US Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman [photo] pressured members of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration to lower ethanol tariffs in order to …

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REPORT: State Department Warned Russia On Bounties

The Daily Beast reports: The U.S. State Department has issued warnings to Russia that there will be repercussions if Moscow pays bounties to the Taliban for successfully killing American soldiers, according to two senior American officials and another individual with knowledge of the matter. The warnings were issued through the department’s diplomatic channels after public news reports in June that …

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Trump’s Ambassador To Iceland Wants To Carry Gun

CBS News reports: The U.S. Ambassador to Iceland wants to carry a gun. Despite being assigned to one of the safest countries in the world, Jeffrey Ross Gunter has been “paranoid” about his security since coming to Reykjavik last year, according to a dozen diplomats. As a result, Gunter wanted the State Department to obtain special permission from the Icelandic …

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Britain Ends Immunity “Loophole” After Fatal Crash

The New York Times reports: Britain and the United States have agreed to end a legal loophole that allowed an American woman to flee Britain after she was involved in a car accident that killed a teenager, the British authorities said, almost a year after the crash started a diplomatic tug of war between the two countries and sparked widespread …

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Trump’s UK Ambassador Probed For Racist Comments

CNN reports: The billionaire NFL owner who serves as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Kingdom was investigated by the State Department watchdog after allegations that he made racist and sexist comments to staff and sought to use his government position to benefit the President’s personal business in the UK, multiple sources told CNN. Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson, the …

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Trump Admin Orders Closure Of Chinese Consulate In Houston, Firefighters Barred After Papers Were Burned

The Associated Press reports: The United States said Wednesday that it has ordered China to close its consulate in Houston “to protect American intellectual property” and the private information of Americans. China strongly condemned the move, the latest in a series of steps by the Trump administration as it ratchets up pressure on the world’s second-largest economy over trade, technology, …

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Pompeo: NYT’s Report On Slavery Is “Marxist Slander”

The Washington Examiner reports: The New York Times’s 1619 Project is an attack on “the American way of life” that aligns with the Chinese Communist Party, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “They want you to believe Marxist ideology that America is only the oppressors and the oppressed,” Pompeo said Thursday at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. “The …

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Trump Admin Lifts Ban On Selling Silencers Overseas, Ban Was Meant To Protect US Troops From Ambushes

The New York Times reports: Michael B. Williams spent nearly two years helping to run a trade group focused on expanding sales of firearm silencers by American manufacturers. But try as he might, he could not achieve one of the industry’s main goals: overturning a ban on sales to private foreign buyers enacted by the State Department to protect American …

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State Department To Launch Pandemic Response Office

CNN reports: The Trump administration disbanded the National Security Council’s pandemic response office in 2018 — and now, on the defensive after a failed response to the coronavirus pandemic, they are planning to launch a similar office at the State Department. The National Security Council hosted an interagency meeting Thursday to discuss the plans for the office, which will fall …

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